Welcome to the new year! Welcome to another black eyed pea dish to wish us all good luck for the upcoming year. We will need it with COVID staying firmly in the mix. For those who are new to this blog, I pick a black eyed pea dish as my New Year’s good luck charm. I typically would do Hoppin’ John, but for the purpose of this blog, I have looked far and wide black eyed pea dishes from around the world. Keeps things interesting. There are many hypotheses (please don’t call a question to be answered a “theory”. A true theory is an idea with lots of evidence to support it (like the Theory of Evolution) pet peeve, sorry)) on why black eyed peas are considered lucky on New Year’s Day. Whichever you want to go with, black eyed peas are a nutritious vegan protein source. Plus, they taste great and can take on the flavor of what you cook them in. I am starting with a recipe from RecipeZazz for Cuban Black Eyed Peas & Hominy. This recipe uses some canned item, which I am going to remove as many as I can to reduce the salt. Also, I always use dried peas. They taste better and when you have an Instant Pot, they cook quickly.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

I replaced the canned black eyed peas with dry peas to reduce the sodium and add flavor to them.
I replaced the hominy with frozen corn to reduce the sodium.
I increased the servings from 4 to 5 to lower the calories.
I increased the amount of red bell pepper to increase the vitamins A and C.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Cuban Black Eyed Peas & Sweet Corn

Serves 5

1 12 ounce bag of frozen sweet corn
1/2 pound of dry black eyed peas
4 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoons cumin
1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 cup onions, chopped
3 bell peppers (chopped)
1 cloves garlic, smashed

Heat oil in skillet
Add onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Sauté until vegetables begin to get soft. Add vinegar, cumin, and oregano and cook 1 more minute.
Add frozen corn, chicken broth and black eyed peas. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer.
Cook, for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender and the broth becomes thickened.