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| 1918-2011 |
Whenever I go to Cyprus, there are a few, OK, quite a few, food items that I simply have to bring back with me, one of these being black eyed beans (peas) For some reason the ones available in Cyprus are larger and plumper than the ones available to us in the UK. I don’t eat black-eyed beans, have never really enjoyed them and probably never will, but other family members do, so that’s good enough for me and anyway they are a healthy and nutritious meal (Plenty of calcium, folate and vitamin A) when served with vegetables, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice, which is the traditional Cypriot way of serving them.
This is hardly even a recipe, it’s so simple, so forgive me, but I am writing this blog based on the assumption that one day my daughters, daughters-in-law and other family members will ask ‘How do you make so-and-so?’ and I can simply direct them to this little blog, so here goes….
Black eyed beans with a random green vegetable!!
(Serves between 2-4)
** I usually use courgettes sliced into thick chunks or a bag of spinach, or a few handfuls of mange-tout..this time I used Brussels sprouts**
250-300g black-eyed beans/peas
green veggies.
I usually soak the peas from the night before which makes them easier to cook, however, if I’ve not had time, on the day, I soak them in boiling water for an hour or so, change the water and then cook them for about 5 minutes in the pressure cooker until about half-way cooked.
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| (Note the reflection, lol) |
Add the veggies, a little salt and cook for another few minutes until both the vegetables and peas are tender and cooked through.
Serve in the traditional Cypriot way with plenty of Extra Virgin olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
My mother-in-law taught me to use any leftovers by frying a chopped onion in olive oil, adding to the leftovers, stirring until heated through, then add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar. This turns the leftovers into a different tasting meal, great for when there is a husband and ten children to be fed and not much money around…..
At Anna’s Kitchen Table 
Oh Anna, sorry for yor MIL! A big hug
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Manu, my Grand-mother, not my MIL.:-)xx
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Sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! ♥
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Dear Anna sorry for your loss of your Grand Mom, huggs, gloria
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Sorry for your loss. Your Granny sounds like a special lady and I love that you're thinking of generations to come. This recipe sounds lovely, simple, yes, the best things are I think. All the best.
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I am sorry for your grandmother's loss,dear Anna!Your salad sounds perfect!A big hug from Greece:)
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Sorry about your grandmother, dear Anna. This is a wonderful picture of her.Many hugs,Juliexxx
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Thankyou Gloria, FF and Lenio! X
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Anna, my condolences for your grandmother. She was blessed to live a long life and see her family growing and may she now rest in peace. Whenever I travel to Cyprus I always bring along all sorts of Cypriot products 🙂
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Sorry to hear about your giagia.Also: The way we do them in cyprus is you boil the black eye peas when they're done, add Greens and boil in the same pot as the beans till they're done /In another pan you boil a maroon or a courgette [ in large pieces ]Then this is how the meal comes together, each individual person fixes their own plate, this isn't something you can mass-prepare – don't try it.Put in the plate your beans with your greens, put 2-3 pieces of maroon/courgette and cut lots so it goes mushy, add spring onion, onion, tomato, olive oil, salt and a tin of tuna on top – some people like to cook a sea bass or a trout and put it on the table for the family to put on the dish. then LOTS of lemon.What happens is as you mix them in the lemon olive oil tuna onions all release a flavour that makes for a perfect very "floaty" dish of goodness, and i guess works like a warm salad.Use bread to dip out the goodness of the juice.Also: black eye peas usually take about 40-50 minutes to cook.Thanks.
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