Confetti salad with seedy sun-dried tomato oil
a salad for the in-between days
Welcome to To Vegetables, With Love, a celebration of a vegetable life, less ordinary. ‘ Find archived recipes on my recipe index.
My book Tenderheart is available from Books are Magic, Kitchen, Arts and Letters, Book Larder, Bold Fork Books and also here or here.
This week’s recipe is for paid subscribers.
The smell of black eyed peas simmering on the stovetop is very nostalgic to me. My mother added them to many of her daily tong (soup) and also to jook. Black eyed peas are a part of her traditional Chinese medicinal pantry, as they are considered helpful in promoting stomach and spleen health, and useful in strengthening qi (energy) and eliminating dampness. My mother stored them in a tall, clear jar, in a narrow kitchen cupboard she had specifically built to keep her medicinal ingredients. Every now and then, young Hetty would open the cupboard doors to stare at the jar; I’m not sure why they fascinated me so, but I suspect it was the black eyes, mysterious and taunting.
When I moved to the United States, it was so wonderful to see the significance of black eyed peas in African-American and Southern cuisine. They are the first big meal of the new year,
Black eyed peas have a long and complex history. But like humans that are underestimated, black eyed peas have prevailed and thrived.
**
My olfactory memory is a strong motivator for me in the kitchen. This week, I wanted to create a black eyed pea salad that speaks to the season right now, the in-between days. In New York, the days are finally warmer and longer, the sun is high and mighty, and there is promise in the air. This anticipation is my fuel.
What do I look for in an in-between days salad? I need heartiness and for that, black eyed peas are perfect. Sweet potatoes do this job too, filling and satisfying, full of starchy goodness. These heavier ingredients get a lift from a few lighter additions – juicy capsicums (bell peppers), sweet tomatoes and milky corn from the freezer. Nineties icon sun-dried tomatoes make a comeback in the bold dressing that is peppered with crunchy fennel and coriander seeds. I encourage you to try this dressing for whatever salad you are making next because it’s just stunning.
I called it a confetti salad because it’s colourful and spoonable. Note, black eyed peas are one of the softer, quicker cooking beans that do not need soaking.
What to eat this week. All NYT Cooking recipes have gift links:
Monday: It was mushroom week over at NYT Cooking last week, so it’s a good time to make this One-Pot Mushroom and Ginger Rice. The ginger takes this rice to the another, cosmic place.
Tuesday: If you're making this week’s confetti salad, grab another bag of frozen corn for this simple corn and celery stir-fry
Wednesday: For the eggplant haters out there, this garlicky and gingery steamed and cold eggplant dish is part of your rehabilitation
Thursday: Have you made this beetroot and goats cheese pasta salad yet? It’s pretty in pink and uses store-bought cooked beets so it comes together in no time.
Friday: Let’s end the week with this vegetarian ‘carbonara’ style pasta with miso mushrooms
🥦 My cookbook, Tenderheart is for cooking vegetables, all year round. Pick up your copy here. It is also mostly vegan (or vegan-izable) and gluten-free adaptable.
Sweet potato and black eyed peas with seedy sun-dried tomato oil
© Hetty Lui McKinnon for To Vegetables, With Love.
Sun-dried tomatoes are made by dehydrating tomatoes in the sun (or in a dehydrator, or the oven). As they dry, they lose most of their water content, resulting in sweet, tangy and chewy bites that are complete flavour bombs.
Dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes can also be used for this recipe. They have a chewy texture similar to dried fruit - I recommend rehydrating them first by soaking in water for 10 to 15 minutes, then drain, dry and chop them up.
I used Okinawa purple sweet potatoes which have a dense texture and a subtly sweet flavor. Any variety of sweet potato will work here.
Serves 6
Gluten free / vegan
150g (3/4 cup) dried black eyed peas (or 2 x 15.5 Ounce / 440g can black eyed peas, drained)
1 garlic clove
sea salt and black pepper
450g (1 pound) sweet potato, washed and cut into 2cm (3/4 inch) cubes
1 teaspoon ground coriander
extra virgin olive oil
140g (1 cup) frozen corn
1 capsicum / bell pepper, any color, diced
1 small red onion, diced
150g (5 ounces) cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
big handful basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped
Seedy sun-dried tomato oil
60ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
6 oil-packed sun dried tomatoes, drained and finely chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red chili (pepper) flakes
sea salt and black pepper
Substitutions
Black eyed peas: chickpeas
Sweet potato: butternut squash, carrot, turnip
Frozen corn: frozen peas, frozen edamame
Heat oven to 200˚C / 400˚F.
If cooking dried black eyed peas, place them into a medium pot and cover with 2 inches (5cm) of water. Add the garlic clove and 2 big pinches of salt. Place on medium high heat, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender, 35 to 45 minutes. When they are ready, add the corn just to blanch them. Drain. Gently stir the garlic clove to break to up (or discard).
Meanwhile, place the sweet potato on a baking sheet and add the ground coriander, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to coat and then arrange in a single layer. Roast until golden around the edges and tender, 18 to 20 minutes
To make the seedy sun-dried tomato oil, place the olive oil in small pot and heat on medium-high until hot but not smoking, about 1 to 2 minutes (if you are not sure, you can insert a wooden spoon or chopstick and if it sizzles, it is hot enough). Add the garlic, coriander and fennel seeds and cook until the garlic is turning golden and the seeds start to pop, about 2 minutes. Take off the heat, add the sun-dried tomatoes and red chili (pepper) flakes and season with salt and black pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
In a large serving bowl, add the sweet potato, black eyed peas, corn, capsicum/bell pepper, red onion, and tomatoes. Add the seeded sun-dried tomato oil and toss to combine. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper. Add the basil and toss again.
Serve at room temperature. The salad can be made up to 4 hours ahead and kept at room temperature.
This salad keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Those colors + flavors + textures are what salad dreams are made of 😍
This looks DIVINE. I love getting the perspective of young Hetty! <3