Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo

Black-Eyed Pea Gumbo (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes, Servings: 8)

Ingredients

·         1 Tbsp. olive oil

·         1 medium onion, chopped

·         1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

·         5 stalks celery, chopped

·         2 cups vegetable broth

·         4 (15 oz.) cans black-eyed peas with liquid

·         2 (14.5 oz.) cans diced tomatoes and green chiles

·         2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Directions

1.      Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, and cook the onion, pepper, and celery until tender.

2.      Pour in the vegetable broth, and mix in black-eyed peas, diced tomatoes and green chiles, and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Add water if soup is too thick.

I made some changes to this recipe based on what I had on hand and what I could get at the grocery store.  I used one 16-oz. bag of dried black-eyed peas because two of the grocery stores that I go to didn’t have canned.  I soaked them overnight in seven cups of water and then rinsed them.  I had to cook the dish about 30 minutes longer and add about 2 cups of water, but it worked out!  I also removed the rice that is in the original recipe because we didn’t have any in the pantry.  Instead, I served this with cornbread – which was an excellent move!

I found that the veggies and peas stay pretty crisp during the cooking process and that texture was a nice difference to the soft tomatoes.  I added a couple dashes of hot sauce, but I should have added more!  I didn’t initially because of my husband’s sensitivity to spicy food.  I don’t know if I will make this again, because, overall, it is pretty bland, even with hot sauce and two cans of tomatoes with green chiles.  Maybe tomatoes with jalapenos would work better.  It is a good mix of carbs and healthy protein, though, and is full of veggies! This one may stay in the recipe box, but get moved to the back.