“Black-eyed peas, or
something very much like them, are grown in Burkina Faso and are
readily available at the marché (market) in Ouahigouya. At home
in Texas, I always just bought a couple of cans of cooked
black-eyed peas at the store, but in Burkina Faso, I had an
opportunity to learn for the first time how to cook beans from
scratch (it's about time at my age). I didn't have the recipe
with me, but I tend to improvise a bit with recipes anyway. The
basic ingredients follow (thanks to my friends for sending the
things I couldn't get in Burkina Faso).”
black-eyed peas
a couple of onions, chopped
a bell pepper, chopped (optional)
a couple of cloves of garlic, minced
one or two cans of chopped green chilies (hot or mild, depending
on taste)
some jalapeño juice and / or some minced jalapeños
a couple of sticks of butter, melted
a cup or two of grated cheese (jack or cheddar or some kind of
Mexican cheese is probably better than the Emmentaler I finally
found in Ouagadougou)
Soak the beans for four
hours, or as directed in a good cookbook. Then cook them with
just enough water to cover them, adding the chopped onions,
pepper, and garlic. Don't add the jalapeno juice because it
includes salt and will prevent the beans from cooking properly.
Cook about an hour or until nice and soft. Then add the green
chilies and jalapeno juice and heat through. Mash it all up (or
put it in a blender if you live in a developed area with probably
too many appliances) until it is the consistency of bean dip.
Return to heat and mix in the melted butter. Finally, add the
grated cheese gradually and stir over heat until it blends in.
Taste and add salt or more peppers or more garlic or whatever,
depending on taste and what you have in the kitchen. Serve with
tortilla chips (whole or crumbled from being packed in a suitcase
or mailed across a couple of continents).
Serves 4.
country : Burkina Faso
course : cheese dish
source : Patty McDuffy [IRE_tag]