Lots of cultures have traditional new year’s day foods. The American south, for instance, features black-eyed peas and collards. The peas are meant to resemble coins and the greens, well, they’re dollars. Deplorable though we find all that commercialism, we still love us some beans’n’greens. And so we were delighted to discover the Cypriot dish louvia me lahana (black-eyed peas and chard). It doesn’t seem to be particular to the new year, and they also make beans with courgettes/zucchini. But we’re nothing if not adaptable! Talking of which, if you are Cypriot, don’t be mad about this recipe: we added cumin and cinnamon; the former is characteristic of Cypriot cuisine (though it doesn’t usually appear in this dish) but the latter is not.
Like all of our recipes these days, this one is very simple. You don’t really even need to cook the onions and greens in a separate pot, though when you do, the dish has better texture. It’s vegan, and super-healthy, so we think of it as a perfect way to start the new year!
Ingredients
No equipment beyond kitchen essentials. The better quality your olive oil, the better this will taste. (Though that’s true of many dishes.)
- 300 g/ 2 1/2 c. black-eyed peas (dried)
- several hefty pinches of salt
- 2T/30 ml olive oil
- 1 large or two small onions, thinly sliced
- spices, to taste: we used pepper, cumin, and cinnamon because that’s what we have. You’re aiming for things with some punch, so sprinkle freely
- juice of one lemon
- more olive oil
- finely chopped fresh herbs, if you have them (we used parsley and mint [another very Cypriot herb!])
Recipe
Sort and soak the beans overnight, or boil them at a fairly high temperature for ten minutes. Then rinse the beans and add fresh water to about two inches above the top of the beans. Add salt, probably more than you think you should. (Salt does all kinds of great things for the taste of food, but it’s also important chemically, helping break down the beans.) Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for anywhere from an hour to two and a half, depending on how old your beans are and how soft you like them. For this dish, we like them meltingly soft, so probably at least an hour and a half.
If you are feeling effortful, sauté the onions in the olive oil, along with the spices, over medium heat for about five minutes, or longer if you’ve got the time. Then add the greens in handfuls and cook down, spooning in just a bit of the bean liquid. You want the greens to wilt, so stir to move them toward the heat. Spinach will go pretty fast, collards fairly slow, with chard and kale in between. It’s ok to do this in batches if your pan isn’t large enough; the greens will have slightly different textures but that isn’t bad.
If you are not feeling effortful, skip the oil and toss the onions and spices into the beans about fifteen minutes before they’re done. About ten minutes later, add the greens. Stir to submerge the greens. Once the beans are cooked to your taste, remove from direct heat but keep the lid on, as the greens will keep cooking.
When you’re ready to serve, squeeze the lemon juice onto individual servings, and drizzle olive oil generously over the top. Sprinkle with fresh herbs if you like.
This dish is fantastic with crusty bread. You could also add canned tuna or anchovies or sliced hard boiled eggs, if that’s your thing. It’s great at room temperature too (we sometimes slurp it directly from the fridge, when the need comes upon us). And here’s a tip for the rest of the year: you can use any kind of beans in place of the black-eyed peas, and any kind of greens.
