Thoughtless Thursday: Healthier Purple Hull Peas

Please excuse this week’s absence.  Our internet has been going in and out all week, which has made it difficult to post.

I actually had planned on giving you a recipe for slow cooker cassoulet, but it was a total bust, so my last minute pinch hitter is a healthier adaptation of a Southern staple: purple hull peas.  I am always astonished by how many southerners outside Mississippi have never heard of this little guy.  You like black eyed peas?  These are SO MUCH BETTER.  Late summer is the season for them, but I had several bags that have been hiding in my freezer.  Now the appropriate way to cook up a pot of purple hull peas is with some pork belly or a couple of strips of bacon.  A big hunk of country ham will do too.  But of course all the fat doesn’t exactly make for a healthy dish.  So I tried a little experiment today.  In the Latin foods section at Kroger, I actually found ham bouillon.    I’ve seen this mentioned on food blogs before, but this was the first time I’ve actually found it.  I decided to give it a shot and see if I could make a decent, healthy pot of peas.  The end results were pretty good, if not as good as the fatty version (no shock there).  Served up with a slab of jalapeno cheddar cornbread and I was quite happy.

Ingredients:

  • purple hull peas (I had probably a quart)
  • 1 packet of ham bouillon
  • salt (to taste)

Directions:

  1. Add the peas, bouillon, and 5 cups of water to the crock.
  2. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.
  3. Add salt just before serving.

Printable version.

3 thoughts on “Thoughtless Thursday: Healthier Purple Hull Peas

  1. I grew up on Purple Hull Peas (in Alabama), but ours looked more GREEN (and had purple eyes instead of black eyes). The pods were green, too. I never liked them, although I loved green beans. I was gifted with a LARGE grocery sack full of them several years ago, and shared them with a dear friend who grew up in China. She stir-fried them with garlic and ginger (and soy sauce), and I discovered a new love for them!

    1. It’s hard to say. I LIKE mine mushy. I’d probably start checking them after 3 hours on low. Peas aren’t like green beans where you want some crunch or snap.

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