Black Eyed Beans with Ladolemono

Fasolia Mavromatika me ladolemono – Black Eyed Beans with Ladolemono

Serves: 4 people
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Season:  Anytime of the year especially winter

Legumes featured often on my family’s dinner table especially on Wednesdays or Fridays when we were fasting for our Greek Orthodox faith. I especially love beans because of their versatility. They are like a blank canvas crying out for some dressing and I love to dress them with the all time Greek favourite Ladolemono.
It is said that the black eyed pea originated from North Africa. They were enjoyed by the ancient Greeks. In ancient Greece beans were also used as a food for the dead.
Did you know that the ancient Greeks used beans to vote? They called these small beans or balls “ballota,” which gives us the word ballot. A white bean was a “yes” and a brown bean was a “no.” If the container was knocked over, and the beans were spilled, the secret was out of the jar.  We therefore now have the saying “spilled the beans” or they let the cat out of the bag.

The below recipe is one of my favourite ways to cook black eyed beans and its very simple.

 Ingredients

• 2 cups dried black eyed beans
• 3 cups cold water
• 4 cups hot water
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove, mashed
• 1 lemon, juiced
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¾ cup parsley, finely chopped
• 1 small red chili, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• Salt and cracked pepper, to taste

Garnish

•  1 lemon, wedges
• Chopped parsley
• Extra virgin olive oil

Method

1. Place the beans and 3 cups of cold water in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat drain and rinse well
2. Return the beans to the saucepan and add the hot water and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25-30 minutes until the beans are tender
3. Remove from saucepan and drain well. Discard bay leaf. Place the beans in a salad bowl and mix them with the olive oil, lemon juice, red onion, parsley, chili, salt, cracked pepper and garlic
4. Serve the beans and garnish with some parsley and drizzle some olive oil. Place a couple of wedges on each bowl and serve

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