Purple hull pea salad
I’ve been working on the pickle section of my book, and I’ve concluded that just about anything can be brined and preserved. Fruit, vegetables, meat, and eggs—it’s a rare food that doesn’t get a flavor boost from vinegar, spices, aromatics, salt and (sometimes) sugar. So when I was trying to come up with new ways to serve the pounds of purple hull peas I brought back with me from Texas, my decision was simple: I’d pickle my purple hull peas.
If you’ve never had the pleasure of eating purple hull peas, they’re a field pea that is similar to black-eyed peas, but with a more delicate and sweet flavor. They’re also prettier with their light-purple blush.
My family never grew purple-hull peas because apparently with these good looks comes high maintenance—they’re a lot tougher to shell than other field peas. But if you do persist, you will be rewarded with a creamy, light pea that needs little adornment to taste wonderful.
In Texas, this time of year you will find fresh purple-hull peas sold on the side of the road, at farmers markets and at many grocery stores, too. I’ve never seen them sold fresh, frozen or dried in New York, which is why I’ve taken to stocking up if I happen to make it home during the summer. Though if you live in Texas, you’ll find them year round in the freezer section as well as fresh during the summer
The simplest way to prepare them is to boil them for about half an hour, with some aromatics such as onion and garlic. You can also throw in some bacon and jalapeños if you’re feeling bold. And with just a sprinkle of salt and a wedge of cornbread, you’ll have yourself a fine feast.
To stave off summer’s heat, however, I wanted to make something cold and tangy. So instead of serving a steaming bowl, I instead tossed my cooked peas with some lime juice, jalapeños, peppers, garlic and olive oil, stuck them in a jar and refrigerated them. And yep, I decided that they were indeed pickled!
These go well with chips, in a scooped-out tomato, tossed in a salad or simply eaten on their own. And if you can’t find purple hull peas, you can easily substitute black-eyed peas.
What do you like to make with purple hull peas?
Purple hull pea salad
Ingredients
- 4 cups shelled purple hull peas uncooked (or 2 15-oz cans drained and rinsed of all juice)
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 1-2 jalapeño chiles, finely diced (amount based on how hot you want the salad!)
- 1 ripe tomato, diced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cayene
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- If using fresh purple hull peas, place them in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 40 minutes or until tender. Drain.
- Mix the purple hull peas with the garlic, jalapeños, tomato, cilantro, cumin, cayenne, olive oil and lime juice. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Chill for 4 hours and then serve. Can serve in a scooped-out tomato, with tortilla chips or as a stand-alone side dish.
I've never heard of purple hull peas, but they look so pretty!
I do however, love to pickle/brine things. This year has been the basics – snow peas, pickles, and the chicken brine (which is amazing, and now i think all chicken should be brined!), but with the CSA getting really good, i'm sure there will be a lot more!
Anna–I think they're not exclusive to Texas but they're definitely Southern! And what a great memory about your family shelling peas!
DessertforTwo–Yep, black-eyed peas are all I can get here, too. Though I love them also!
Paula–Thank you!
Kathryn–Tortilla chips are wonderful wit this!
Kelly–It's perfect in the summer because it's cool and tangy. And what a wonderful story about Big Granny!
Steff–Go to Central Market and you should find them!
Lana–I like that name, Pink Eye Purple Hull!
Densise–This would be great with black beans and avocado!
Anon–I love that purple hull peas helped supply you with Kiss records! What a great story!
Jewlz–I was reading about that jelly! What does it taste like?
Heather–Yep, pickling's one of my favorite ways to preserve food as well.
I'm impressed with the hollowed out tomato! My mother was always cooking us black eyed peas, but I never had purple hulled peas. May try this with black eyed peas!
Screwed Up Texan–I saw purple hull peas at Dallas's Central Market a couple of weeks ago, but black-eyed peas are a perfect substitute.
I saw your spotlight on CNN's Eatocracy and say "hey wait – that's one of my foodie blogs that i read religiously!" Just wanted to say Congrats 🙂