Black-Eyed Peas Greek Salad
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Easy and quick
Rediscovering Black-Eyed Peas
I discovered this black-eyed peas Greek salad on my recent trip to Greece at a taverna called Remetzo's in Perdika Beach on the island of Aegina. I loved the restaurant and these black-eyed peas so much we ate at the restaurant three times, ordering these black-eyed peas each time. It was the only restaurant we ate at multiple times on the 2 1/2 week trip. So that says a lot! Here are some views from Remetzo's Taverna. Can you see why we had such a great time here?
Here is a photo of Remetzo's black-eyed peas salad shot on my iPhone at the restaurant.
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Greece via Arkansas
Who knew black-eyed peas were Greek? My great-grandmother, Granny Moore, who was from Arkansas, made black-eyed peas for me when I was a little tyke. I always thought of them as an American dish, and particularly a southern dish. Turns out there are a lot of things I didn't know about black-eyed peas. Check out my Black-Eyed Peas article to get the low-down on this nutritious legume.Make in Advance
This salad gets better after 24 hours in the fridge. The beans soak up the dressing and become even more delicious.Nutritious, Economical and Delicious
This dish epitomizes the Mediterranean diet as it is vegetable dense and loaded with olive oil. Black-eyed peas are one of the most nutritious legumes, so make a big batch of this and take the leftovers to work for a fabulous and filling lunch.Dried vs Canned Black-Eyed Peas
You can use either in this recipe. Benefits of cooking dried black-eyed peas from scratch:- Are more economical (but let's face it canned peas are a bargain too)
- Avoid exposure to bPa that is in the lining of canned beans
- Allow you to control salt content
- Allow you to control level of doneness -- al dente vs. mushy
- Takes more time
- If you don't watch carefully you can overcook and get mushy peas
- Time saver
- This becomes a no-cook recipe
- Most canned black-eyed peas are cooked to a reasonable doneness
What Color Are Black-Eyed Peas?
Black-eyed peas come in different colors from beige to pink.
Variations on this Black-Eyed Peas Salad to Fit Multiple Diets
I developed this as a vegetarian recipe, incorporating a little feta cheese to punch it up. You can make it as a vegan dish by just eliminating the cheese. Or you can add a little diced roast chicken if you want to give this black-eyed peas salad a little more heft. It works well as a side dish or as a main course.Want More Information on Black-Eyed Peas?
How Do You Like to Enjoy Black-Eyed Peas?
PrintBlack-Eyed Pea Greek Salad
I discovered this black-eyed-peas salad recipe on a recent trip to Greece and fell in love with this traditional Greek dish. Loaded with fresh vegetables and olive oil, this is an excellent dish to expand your healthy Mediterranean diet.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 Servings 1x
- Category: Lunch, Dinner
- Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients
Scale
For the salad:
- 1/2 pound dried black-eyed peas (or 2 cans drained)
- 3 celery stalks, chopped in 1/3″ pieces
- 5 green onions, sliced, including white and green parts
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved or quartered, depending on size
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced into 1/3” pieces
- 1 large handful of parsley, chopped
- 2 cups diced roast chicken (optional)
- 3 ounces feta, crumbled as garnish
For the dressing:
- 2 T shallots, finely minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 t whole-seed mustard
- 1 T dried oregano
- 1/2 t dried chile flakes
- 2/3 cup good quality olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- 1/2 lemon
Instructions
For the salad:
If you are cooking dried black-eyed peas:
- Rinse and sort peas, removing broken peas. Place in a pot and cover with water by about two inches. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand one hour. Drain and rinse. Return to the pot and cover beans with about 2″ of water. Bring to boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Final cooking time varies depending on the beans. Total time should be between 25 minutes and 45 minutes. Check after 20 minutes. Cook to al dente, firm, but cooked through. Avoid over-cooked mushy beans. When the peas are cooked drain well, and spread on a clean dish towel to dry. Well dried beans will absorb the dressing better than wet ones.
If you are using canned black-eyed peas:
- Drain, rinse and drain the peas. Spread on a clean dish towel to dry.
Assemble the salad:
- Put the beans in a mixing bowl and toss with 1/3 of the salad dressing. Mound peas in a shallow serving bowl or platter.
- Add the celery, green onions, tomatoes, red pepper, parsley and optional diced chicken in the mixing bowl you just tossed the salad in. Add another 1/3 of the dressing and toss. Arrange the tossed vegetables around the mounded peas. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the top, squeeze a little lemon juice over the top and garnish with crumbled feta cheese.
For the dressing:
- Whisk together first 6 ingredients. Slowly whisk in olive oil to create an emulsion. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Notes
- This salad gets better after 24 or more hours in the fridge as the peas absorb the dressing.
- If you are cooking your dried black-eyed peas from scratch add another 40 minutes to the cooking process.
- There was an error in the original recipe. It called for 1 T mustard instead of 1 t mustard. It now has been corrected.
THIS SERVES WELL WITH
5 COMMENTS
This sounds wonderful! I can barely wait to try it!!
Let us know what you think Barbara!
YUM! Made this for dinner and we had it for lunch and snacks for a couple of days. SOOOOO Tasty!!!!! Super easy, too. We don’t eat meat so I added a chunky-chopped cucumber and some thickly sliced Greek Olives to replace the chicken. Thank you Kim for this inspirational recipe.
This salad looks so delicious!!!
Please let us know if you try it. I’ve gotten a great response so far.