Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo

The tradition of eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day is one that runs deep in the South. No one knows the origin of the superstition but the peas themselves hail from West Africa. Black-eyed peas are supposed to deliver good luck, health, and abundance for the new year. Growing up, I was never a fan of cooked black-eyed peas. I always found them to be too Earthy and gritty. And, no offense to my family, they tended to boil the peas beyond recognition.

I was scrolling through the NYT Cooking website when I came across a delicious looking black-eyed pea gumbo from famed New Orleans’ chef, Donald Link. I’ve been to many of Link’s restaurants so I know this was going to serve as great inspiration for my own recipe. I wanted to try to make a nearly meat-free version of this dish because the greens I paired with the gumbo already contained a ton of pork. The thought was to start on a somewhat lighter note for 2024.

What I love about this dish is that it removes the Earth and grit from the black-eyed peas by cooking them separately before adding them to the gumbo thereby discarding the tainted cooking liquid. If you wanted to add meat to this dish do so before you make the roux by sautéing the meat of your choice in the pot before setting aside. Then, make your roux as usual so it can absorb all of the amazing fond on the bottom of the pot.

Ingredients for the Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo

• 1 lbs dried black-eyed peas, Rancho Gordo recommended

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 5-6 stalks of celery, diced

• 5-6 cloves of garlic, finely diced

• 1 jalapeño, finely diced

• 1 cup vegetable or canola oil

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 4 cups beef broth or vegetable broth

• 2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet

• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper

• 2 teaspoons hot sauce

• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

• Kosher salt to taste

• Cooked white rice for serving

• Thinly sliced scallions for garnish

Serves approximately 6-8 people

Directions for the Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo

1. Cover and soak the black-eyed peas in an inch of cold water overnight or at least four hours. Once soaked, pick through the beans to remove split or damaged ones. Add to a large pot and cover with an inch of water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat low. Leave the pot semi-covered with the lid so your gumbo doesn’t reduce too quickly. Cook for 35-45 minutes or until tender but not mushy.

2. In another pot, bring one cup of vegetable or canola oil to medium heat. Add in the all-purpose flour. Using a wooden spoon or whisk, continue to cook the roux until it turns a chocolate brown color. This will take between 15 and 20 minutes. Do not allow the roux to sit too long in one place because it will burn quickly.

3. Once your roux is nice and brown, add in the onion, celery, garlic, and jalapeño. Sauté together for five minutes or until the veggies are slightly soft. Next, add in the beef broth. Bring the mixture up to a simmer and cook until the gumbo thickens. This should take another ten minutes.

4. Finally, add in the Kitchen Bouquet, soy sauce, hot sauce, spices, and cooked black-eyed peas. Allow this to cook together again for another 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings as necessary at the end.

5. Serve over a bowl of cooked white rice with thinly sliced scallions! Enjoy!