Tender little beans with their black-eyed wink, tossed with crunchy diced red pepper and cucumber, and minced fresh green jalapeño pepper and cilantro, all dressed in tangy lime vinaigrette, all easy and quick, here comes luck, wealth, and health all wrapped up in this Mexican black-eyed pea salad!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is a tradition worth keeping. And since we’re celebrating in Baja Mexico, this year I’m making a zesty politely-spiced salad with south of the border flavors.

Click here to PIN Mexican Black-eyed Pea Salad recipe!

Many say, to represent wealth for the new year, we should include some sort of green with our black-eyed peas. Often collards are the green, particularly in the southern US. For sure cilantro covers that green, but if you want to make sure you’re in the money, stir in some chopped arugula or spinach. This salad is also nice on top of a bed of mixed lettuce greens, also dressed in the lime vinaigrette.

You can serve it as a dip with tortilla chips, like they do in the lone star state. You could add corn kernels and mango chunks and make a unique relish that happens to be perfect with sunny-side-up eggs. 

The jalapeño chile zing going on here is pleasingly fresh, sort of citrusy, and really quite mild. Or else I’m getting used to more picante heat the more time I spend in Mexico… Anyway, if you prefer, use just half of a jalapeño.

Mexican Black-eyed Pea Salad kitchen notes:

• Black-eyed peas are easy to cook from scratch: Add 1 ½ cups rinsed beans to a large pot with 4 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook 45 minutes or so, until tender. Even faster–cook un-soaked beans in a pressure cooker 10 to 11 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
• You can swap the jalapeño with a serrano chile, serranos being slimmer and more picante than jalapeños. As with all green chiles, to focus on flavor, cut out the seeds and veins, which carry the most heat.
• About removing the seeds and veins from small chiles: I’ve been using a grapefruit spoon for the job. Cut the chile in half and hold the stem end while scraping out the seeds, or hold the chile down with a fork, trying not to touch the chile. Wearing gloves is a very good idea, and touching the eyes is not.

More New Year’s Day black-eyed pea dishes from Letty’s Kitchen:

• Black-eyed pea and collards—flavor mélange in a pot.
• Hoppin’ John fritters with collards and “soysage”.
• Southern mess o’ greens soup with black-eyed peas.

Thank you dear readers, for being here, for subscribing, cooking and commenting this past year. It’s my wish that my recipes encourage you into the kitchen to cook delicious healthful food. As we head into a New Year and always, may good luck, excellent health, and abundance flow to you easily.

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Mexican Black-eyed Pea Salad

Prep Time

20 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Tender black-eyed peas, tossed with crunchy diced red pepper and cucumber, fresh jalapeño pepper and cilantro, with lime vinaigrette--this is an easy potluck salad all year long. Makes about 5 cups. Serves 6 to 10, depending of course on portion size.

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: 8 people

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

• 2 cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained, (3 to 3 ½ cups cooked beans
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 red bell pepper diced in ½-inch chunks, about 1 cup
• ½ cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced in ½ inch chunks
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Mix the black-eyed peas, onions, red pepper, jalapeño pepper, and cilantro in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, mustard, garlic, oregano, salt, and a generous grind of black pepper.
3. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss until everything is well coated. Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed.
4. Refrigerate at least one hour to allow the flavors to blend. Taste before serving—you may need to add more salt.
5. Serve chilled.