Red Sea Island Peas
On a recent trip to South Carolina, we visited Saint Helena Island the Gullah Geechi people live here and offer cultural tours, something that would be wonderful to do after covid. I am not an expert on these people but due to the isolated nature of the sea islands and the close knit community these people have maintained traditions, language and food from their West African roots after being enslaved and passed down land throughout the generations.
I hope to return when the pandemic ends to take a tour and lean more also to eat in one of the local restaurants. I found these sea island peas in Publix and knew I wanted to try them, there is a recipe on the back. Food has an amazing power to connect us to others cultures and food history.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of red peas, added to water to soak overnight
- 1.5 sticks of celery diced
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 an onion chopped
- a tablespoon of butter
- I also added 2 carrots chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- cumin and coriander power and a little smoked chipotle powder ( again my addition for a little more flavor)
Method
- soak the peas overnight
- heat a little olive oil and add the onion and garlic and celery and cook for 7-10 minutes until soft, add the butter, carrot and peas with 8 cups of vegetable stock and boil for 1- 1.5 hours until the peas are soft.
- we enjoyed these with jerk chicken and rice.
Looks comforting and tasty!
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