Entertain the Possibilities - Home cooking becomes a special occasion; Get recipes, photos, tips and playlists
  • Blog
  • About

Soul Food Beans and Greens

4/7/2020

2 Comments

 
Soul Food Supper
Comfort on a plate, you know that's right! The bowls are to catch all those tasty juices.
I am not a recipe developer, just a home cook trying new recipes and tweaking old favorites. I will always credit sources and note where I’ve made changes. Photos are my own; you can tell I’m a work in progress. Showing you the steps along the way is what sets us apart from the bazillion +1 other food blogs. That and the bitchin’ playlist that comes with each post. Let’s get to it.
Soul food is comfort food, rich and satisfying with multi-layered flavors made in a kitchen that smells like heaven itself. If you’re in a rush, the food won’t taste right. So get comfortable, put on some music, and grab a fresh apron. You’re going to be here for a while. 
Beans and greens are typically served as sides with a big family meal, alongside fried chicken or ham, mac and cheese, biscuits, and sweet potato pie that Auntie brings for dessert. I could happily make a meal from the collard greens and black-eyed peas (kissed with bacon and spices) alone. 
Collard Greens and Black-Eyed Peas
Leftovers. Almost better than Day 1.
If you grew up eating soul food, you surely do not need my recipes. Family tradition has already dictated how you will prepare your meal. But if you’re coming at it like I did – ​with love for the flavors but no heritage of Southern cooking – these recipes will serve you well. 
The collard greens recipe (flavored with big chunks of smoked turkey meat) comes from Divas Can Cook, and the black-eyed peas are from the Neelys, a Food Network cooking couple renowned for their barbecue and soul food sensations. My thanks to all, these are great recipes. 
Black-eyed peas ingredientsBlack-eyed peas ingredients
For the beans: You can use different beans (ex. pinto or Navy beans) but I enjoy the distinct earthiness of black-eyed peas.

​Soak the dried peas/beans overnight, rinsing and refreshing the soaking water a few times, then proceed with the recipe, it’s pretty straightforward, although I opted to omit the pork shoulder. The beans are plenty flavorful with just thick-cut bacon.

Black-eyed peas simmering
Black-eyed peas simmering
Black-Eyed PeasBlack-eyed peas - nice and saucy, not soupy


​The original recipe makes an important point about mashing some peas against the side of the pan after they’re nice and soft, then stirring them back into the mix.

I love the resulting texture – creamy but still chock full of firm but tender whole peas. Oh yum!

Find the recipe here. 

For the greens: My advice is to buy fresh collard greens and trim the leaves yourself, removing the tough stems, rather than buying packages of pre-cut greens which include the stems. The recipe calls for a nice amount of red pepper flakes. A-Ok in my book, but adjust as needed to suit your taste buds. Find the recipe here. 
Collard greens ingredients
Smoked turkey leg for collard greens
Collard greens
Collard greens
Collard greens
Collard greens

Good food requires good music, both while cooking and during the savoring. Today the late, great soul singer Marvin Gaye takes the mic to ask the pandemic-related question on most everyone’s mind -- What’s Going On? He was speaking out against the Vietnam War but I wonder if any parallels could be made to our current situation? Hmm. Give a listen. 
For your dining pleasure, may I present a throwback playlist – keep throwin’, we’re going way back to the 1940s – ​featuring Erskine Hawkins, a jazzman and bandleader from Alabama who almost certainly ate his fair share of beans and greens back in the day. 
2 Comments
Johnny Cakes
4/9/2020 02:44:12 pm

What, no Beans and Cornbread by Louis Jordan on that excellent playlist?? Scandalous.

Reply
Entertain the Possibilities
4/9/2020 08:55:00 pm

Oh yeah, that's a good one for sure!

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    When home cooking becomes a special occasion - Recipes, playlists, table tips and more
    Picture

    ​
    Entertaining Vintage

    Vintage treasures for the kitchen, home, collectibles, and gifts

    Categories

    All
    Afternoon Dance Break
    Birthday Greetings
    Cookbook Road Test
    Cool Tunes
    Drinks
    Entertaining Vintage
    Fish
    Kitchen Reno
    Kitchen Tips
    National Days
    Party Planning
    Pop Culture
    Recipe
    Savory Bites
    Supper Club
    Sweet Bites
    The Arts
    Travel
    TV
    Video

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    RSS Feed

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required
Proudly powered by Weebly