Black-Eyed Pea Salsa, "Highly Very," and That Guy "Unknown" Says Some Good Stuff

This has been a highly, very good week.  ((There's a story that goes with the expression "highly very."  A good friend of ours about a thousand years ago or maybe closer to 2003 came back to our table at the restaurant and asked with the utmost sincerity, "Is the waitress highly in love me, very in love with me or highly, very in love with me?"  The phrase "highly very" has stuck.))  Regardless, this week has highly, very kicked ass.  Take it my word for it.

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It's going to be a big cooking weekend around here.  Tomorrow, I'm cooking for a housewarming party and I've been having probably more fun than should be allowed getting ready for it.  The menu consists of deviled crab dip and black-eyed pea salsa for the appetizers; the main course is jambalaya, cajun pulled pork, dirty rice, creole baked beans, and spicy corn muffins with honey butter; dessert is brandied brown sugar bread pudding.   The host had me design the menu around his ((totally not obvious from this description)) theme and loved all of the ideas, so I got to choose.  Win, win. 

Today I made the black-eyed pea salsa so that it can all marinate together overnight and be extra marinated-y.  ((No, I don't have a better ending to that sentence.))  Living in Arizona, we are at constant high salsa saturation levels and I thought an alternative to the regular tomato, pico de gallo, and tomatillo/verde salsa would be welcome.   

What you need:  ((to serve approximately 20))

2 lbs of black-eyed peas ((pre-soaked and rinsed))

6 medium tomatoes

1 chopped green pepper

1 cup chopped red onion

4 chopped green onions

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup Italian salad dressing

1/4 cup sour cream 

1/2 cup minced parsley

tortilla chips for serving

What to do:

Okay, news flash.  Black-eyed peas are not peas.  They are beans.  You would be surprised how many well-educated adults do not know this.  So you are going to find them by the bulk beans in the market.  ((You could theoretically buy the canned stuff, but where is the fun in that?))

Beans need to be soaked.  I used a quick-soak method because I lack patience, but I'm hurrying up and trying to work on that.  Basically, you rinse the beans thoroughly in a mesh colander.  Pick through them, practically one by one, to be sure there aren't any stones.  Add them to a large stock pot and add the amount of water that the bag prescribes, I used 8 cups.  Bring the pot to a rapid boil, let it go crazy for two minutes, then cover, and remove from the heat.  Let them sit for one hour.  Re-rinse them and you're good.

Dice up all of the vegetables.  Take note that if you are using a knife that has never been used before that it will be exceptionally sharp, make you realize how much your other knives suck, and might make you suffer from knife envy.   Add  your vegetables to a bowl with the drained and rinsed beans.  In a small bowl, combine the salad dressing and the sour cream and whisk it until you get a cramp.  Dump it on top of the bean/veg mixture, put a lid on it, and shake the living hell out of it until everything is well-coated.  Throw it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but overnight is much better.  

Nutritional Info:  Not too shabby.  75 calories, 5 grams of fat for a 1/4 cup serving.  

Recipe adapted slightly from Taste of Home.

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I better get moving...  I have a massive amount of stuff going on in the next 3 days.  No complaints.  None at all.