When Wuff's dad re-married, Mom brought her wonderful Southern cooking dishes into our previously mostly Germanic/Pennsylvania Dutch kitchen. One of her delightful additions were the Black-Eyed Peas "for luck" during New Year's meals.

Mom's recipe was very straight forward, coming from a time of fresh farm ingredients and low income. Over the years, wuff has been "augmenting" these to kick up the flavors over the simple boiled beans.

The current version is good enough to get folks who "don't like those durn black-eyed peas" (a quote) to go back for seconds! And have made several "converts" to the anti black-eyed camp! *grins* Bacon can do that to ya! *grins more*

Yup! These beans got Bacon, plus sautéed shallot and garlic in browned butter and a little touch of earthy warmth from chili powder. They even reach overseas to add Ajwain seeds to the mixture. Those seeds aren't critical, but they do add lovely complexity and they cut down on the "gaseous" properties, so they're a "win win" in wuffy's book!

Even if you're not a fan of the lowly Black-Eyed Pea, you ought to give this version a try. You might surprise yourself! *smile*

Note: Ajwain has a bitter and pungent taste, with a flavor similar to anise and oregano. It is considered to be an antiflatulent, a spice which reduces the gaseous effects of beans and other legumes. Warm it in butter, ghee, etc., for best flavor.

Ingredients
1 qt Stock (vegetable or chicken)
4 strips Thick-Cut Double-Smoked Peppered Bacon
1/2 lb dried Black-Eyed Peas
1 large Shallot, minced
3 Tbs Butter
1 tbs Garlic, minced
1 tsp Omnivore Salt
~1 tsp ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Ajwain seeds

Directions:
Chop the bacon into small pieces.

Fry the bacon pieces under high heat in a medium sauce pan until just starting to get crisp.

Pour off all but ~2Tbs of bacon fat. Remove and reserve the bacon.

Add butter to the bacon fat and allow to heat until foamy. Reduce heat to medium high and continue heating until it starts to darken and smells nutty.

Add the minced shallot. Cook until they start to turn translucent.

Add the minced garlic and the Ajwain seeds. Cook for 3-4 minutes.

Return the bacon to the pan. Add the black-eyed peas and the stock.

Season with chili powder and salt. Stir to combine.

Taste, and add extra pepper if required (may not be needed depending on how much pepper your bacon had).

Cover and simmer until beans become tender, stirring occasionally. (At wuff's altitude, this took about 2 1/2 hours.) If necessary, add more stock or water to keep the beans from getting too dry while they cook to soften.

When beans are tender, if necessary, remove cover and continue cooking until any excess liquid evaporates and beans are at your desired "sauciness" level.