{Healthy Salads} Black-Eyed Pea and Stewed Tomato Salad Recipe

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"According to the Spanish proverb, four persons are wanted to make a good salad: a spendthrift for oil, a miser for vinegar, a counsellor for salt and a madman to stir it all up." John Gerard

Salads are great meals. They are quick, easy to assemble with almost anything that's readily available in the refrigerator and magical as well, especially when fresh vegetables are at their peak during the season.

But, unfortunately - "A lot of people get into what you'd call a salad rut, making the same salad over and over, or using one type of dressing for every type of leaf" says Chris Mayhew, director of marketing at Dole. (Source). I think that's partially true when we attempt to make a salad in its true definition - a green, veggies, protein and a dressing. Its fun to think out of the box and mix & match sometimes.

Today's recipe - Black-Eyed Pea and Stewed Tomato Salad is a little unconventional when it comes to how its made. You don't need always a heavy blue cheese or ranch dressing to bind everything together. Some tomato juice from the stewed tomatoes is heated up with olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper which makes up the dressing. Its just d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s. Black eyed peas (or any type of beans) are used for that protein kick. Best of all, its completely vegan and kid friendly. :-)

Enjoy and make some today!

peeled, stewed  canned cherry tomatoes.

boiled black eyed peas

the dressing - olive oil, tomato juice, salt and paprika

{Recipe}  Black-Eyed Pea and Stewed Tomato Salad 

Adapted from Vegetarian Times
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup dried black-eyed peas (or use drained and rinsed canned peas)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 small carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 small bell pepper, finely diced
1 green onion, both white and green parts thinly sliced
4-5 stewed tomatoes along with their juice. (I used cherry tomatoes)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp paprika (or chilli powder)
salt & black pepper - to taste
chopped cilantro/coriander leaves - for garnishing

Preparation:

How to prepare dried beans: Soak 1 cup of dried black peas for 6 to 8 hours in filtered water. Pressure cook with enough water on HIGH heat for 9-12 minutes. Let the pressure be released naturally and there you have peas ready for use. I normally cook atleast 5-6 cups and freeze them. When required, all you have to do is thaw them a bit.

In a bowl, combine black-eyed peas, onion, carrots, bell pepper, and green onions and keep aside.

Drain the can of stewed tomatoes. Coarsely chop tomatoes and add to black-eyed-pea mixture. 

In a small saucepan, warm olive oil, few tbsp of tomato juice and paprika. Bring it to a boil, turn off and pour over black-eyed-pea mixture. Stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve immediately or refrigerate. It tastes good as a cold salad too. 

Note: My canned tomatoes were quite acidic so I skipped adding any vinegar (as per original recipe) or lemon juice. Optionally you can add one of them as well.

Sending this as an entry to Lisa's My Legume Love Affair # 56 who has taken the hosting baton from Susan from this month onwards. Also to The Wellness Weekend and Healthy Vegan Fridays.

..salad is ready..who wants to eat some!...

This is Recipe 13 added to my 2013 Recipe Archive. Check out the rest of the recipes too!

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