Black-Eyed Peas Pasta Sauce

Serves: 4 | Prep Time: 20 Minutes | Cooking Time: 20 Minutes

Print Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 shallot diced

• 1 dried red chili

• 1 dried bay leaf

• 1 garlic head, grated or minced

• 1 carrot diced

• 1 cup water

• 1 tsp vegetable paste or bouillon

• 1 cup of frozen or fresh bell peppers, chopped

• 1 tsp amchur/mango powder

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 cup tomato purée

• 1 tsp salt or to taste

• 2 1/2 cups cooked black eyed peas

• Handful of parsley chopped

Directions

1. Heat oil and add shallots, red chili, and bay leaf. Cook until shallots are translucent.

2. Add garlic, stir and cook until garlic mixes with the shallot.

3. Add carrots, water, and bouillon. Mix bouillon, cover and let the carrots cook for about 4-5 minutes.

4. Add frozen bell peppers when carrots are soft and the rest of the spices. Stir and cook until bell peppers are cooked.

5. Add purée and salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

6. When the sauce has integrated with the spices, add the cooked black-eyed peas. Stir cover and cook for another 5 minutes in medium-low heat.

7. Turn off heat and add parsley.

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I love eating pasta, but sometimes, I want to add more protein and fiber to the sauce. This recipe ticks that box. I’ve always used either red lentils or cannellini beans for pasta sauce, and this was an experiment that worked really well. The black-eyed peas have a nutty taste. The tomatoes and mango powder add a tangy flavor. The parsley has an herby taste that compliments the beans well. Although I have this sauce with pasta, I sometimes have it with grilled sourdough bread with butter. 

In the video, I used frozen three bell pepper blend from Whole Foods. If you’re using fresh, one bell pepper, any color, should work.

Serving

When I make this recipe, I keep the sauce separate from the pasta until I'm ready to eat or serve. So if you are having it with pasta, make sure to cook pasta separately and add olive oil so it doesn't stick. You can mix the pasta with the sauce together if you know the whole dish will get eaten in one shot, but I find that when it comes to heating it up, I like to heat the sauce separately. It requires more heat and it might dry out the pasta.

I hope you try this black-eyed peas sauce. Adding more beans and peas to my diet has been life changing for me, in terms of digestion and overall health.