New Years Day Traditions: Potato Collard Cakes with Simple Rouille and Black Eyed Peas with Collards and Sweet Potatoes

Do you believe in the importance of traditions? How about folklore and superstition? Even if you don't I think it's fun to celebrate Holiday's and special occasions by making special memories and creating lasting traditions that will comfort and make your family and friends feel special.



This is actually a post I did last year but honestly, it was so good I just can't imagine making anything else to celebrate the New Year.


We all know that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is supposed to bring good luck and prosperity. 

Black-eyed peas are a common Southern dish, and the practice of eating them for luck is generally believed to have begun during the Civil War. When Union soldiers moved through Mississippi, they burned all the crops except the peas because it was believed that only farm animals ate them. When Southerners found that black-eyed peas were the only food left, they considered the legumes a sign of good fortune. 

Other legends say that the practice dates to ancient Egypt when it was believed that eating a meager food like black-eyed peas showed humility before the gods and you would receive blessings of prosperity in return. 



Whatever you believe this recipe is fancy enough to  celebrate with family or friends on New Years Day and simple and healthy to start your year off to a healthy new way of living.

Potato Collard Cakes with Simple Rouille and Black Eyed Peas with Collards and Sweet Potatoes.

click for recipe

Do you have any special traditions or foods you celebrate with on 

New Years Day?

Have a wonderful New Year!

Simply Healthy Family

Potato-Collard Cakes with Rouille and Black Eyed Peas w Collards and Sweet Potatoes

I'm sure there are a million variations of Black Eyed Pea recipes out there right now but

this turned out so much better than I thought so I had to share it! Especially since my husband and EVERY single one of my kids, Jack included said it was wonderful at least 5 times. Yes!!!

I used canned black eyed peas because I was lazy and forgot to soak my dried peas the night before, but feel free to use dried if you wish. This is also why I used crumbled bacon on top instead of the traditional Ham Hock. I added a sweet potato for flavor and vitamins which is also why I think my kids loved it so much. I got that idea from Winnie at Healthy Green Kitchen.

The potato cakes and Rouille sauce were an excellent accompaniment and the kids gobbled them up as well while saying it was their "most favorite dinner they've never had!"  ;)

I will be making this dinner many, many times!

Potato cake recipe adapted from Bon Apetite

You Will Need:

Cakes

•1 1/2 pounds unpeeled russet potatoes, scrubbed. Leave whole to boil to retain nutrients and lessen starch.

•1/4 cup  milk

•2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

•1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

•1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

•3 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

•1 cup chopped yellow onion

•1 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

•1/2 pound collard greens, center rib and stem cut from each leaf, leaves coarsely chopped

•1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme  (use your favorite herb you have on hand)

•1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg



Rouille:

•1/2 cup mayonnaise

•1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

•2 garlic cloves, pressed and minced

•1 tablespoon tomato paste

•1 teaspoon smoked paprika

•Pinch of cayenne pepper


*Whisk all ingredients together, chill until ready to serve.


Cakes:

• Cook potatoes in large saucepan of boiling salted water until tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain; return potatoes to same saucepan. Add milk and butter. Mash potatoes (with peel) until smooth. Season with 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Transfer 3 cups mashed potatoes to large bowl and cool (reserve remaining potatoes for another use).

• Heat 11/2 tablespoons oil in large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high. Add kale and thyme. Toss until kale wilts, about 5 minutes. Add kale mixture, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper to potatoes; blend.

Cool potato mixture 30 minutes until you can handle it to shape into patties.

• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cakes and cook, without moving, until cakes are brown and crispy on bottom, 3 to 4 minutes. Carefully turn cakes over. Cook until brown on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes longer. Transfer to plates. Top each cake with dollop of rouille.

 Black Eyed Peas Recipe

You will need:

2 cups fresh or 2 cans Black Eyed Peas

1 cup Collard Greens, rinsed, stems removed, chopped

1 cup onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Sweet Potatoe peeled and cubed into small pieces

1 package bacon cooked till crispy

Chicken Stock: If using canned peas, 2 cups. If using fresh peas, 5 cups.

1 teaspoon each:  dried thyme, dried marjoram, dried mustard powder

Kosher salt and Fresh Cracked pepper to taste.

Putting it All Together:

In a deep Cast Iron Pot over medium-high heat add oil. Add onion, cook for 3-4 minutes, add garlic, cook 1 more minute. Add sweet potatoe, toss to coat. Add collard greens and cook down 4-5 minutes. Add Chicken Stock while scraping bottom of pot with a wooden spatula to release browned bits.
Add herbs. Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes until potatoes are soft. Ladel into bowls, crumble bacon over top.

Cuban Style Sweet Potatoes, Yams and Black Beans with Pineapple Salsa

Some of the best things happen by accident. Or, if you rather, "Necessity is the Mother of Invention."

Last minute dinners as a result of poor planning can be the invention of a new family favorite if you stock your pantry with healthy ingredients. I always have a variety of brown and wild rice (bulk/bag, not boxed w flavor packets) and cans of  low-sodium beans for when I'm super lazy.  I also always keep on hand, a variety of flavored vinegars and oils, sun dried tomatoes, peppers in oil, Tamari, spices, ginger, garlic, onions, broth and crushed tomatoes. 

These are my Kitchen Staples ie. things I always have in my pantry and fridge.  My feeling is, if you keep healthy foods and ingredients stocked in your kitchen and NOT junk, you will be forced to make healthy foods instead of grabbing for unhealthy ones.

I always think of  my husband's favorite movie " Field of Dreams" when I reach for one of my trusty ingredients. In the movie the mysterious voice/dream Kevin Costner keeps hearing says "If you build it, they will come".  So the voice in my head says " If you buy healthy foods, healthy recipes will come to you."  Or, "If you keep it on hand, they will eat it".  What? No, no I'm not crazy. Alright maybe a little. The point is, some of our favorite dishes have been not from fancy recipe books or sites, but from common kitchen ingredients I keep on hand and my master mommy mind!

What are some of your Kitchen Staples

and what do you commonly do with them?

Last minute pineapple salsa. I was going to toss the pineapple in with the potatoes the last few minutes of baking but found these sweet peppers hanging out in my pantry that wanted to join the party.

If you've never tried these little peppers, you should. They are sweet and delicious. We commonly use them as dippers for hummus, but they were perfect for fruit salsa. I added a jalapeno too for a kick!

If you have young children, set aside some pineapple minus the jalapeno, onion and cilantro for them.

I used crushed pineapple, sweet mini peppers, jalapeno, minced white onion and cilantro.

I sprinkled about a tablespoon of Jamaican Allspice, a bit of salt and cracked pepper onto the yams and potatoes and tossed with oil. The contrast of the savory, sweet allspice with the cumin in the beans was excellent!

Peel and cube  sweet potatoes into 1 1/2 inch pieces.  Put in large bowl and drizzle with just a little extra virgin olive oil, add spices, toss to combine. Too much oil and they will be mushy. Pour into a large casserole dish and bake at 400F for 30-45 minutes, depending on how many you use and how small you cut them. As soon as they are easily pierced with a fork, remove from oven. you don't want mashed potatoes, you want them slightly firm.

Meanwhile, in a sauce pot, add Ranch Style black beans, drained. 1/2 cup chicken broth or water, chopped cilantro, cumin and salt. Cook covered over medium heat to combine flavors.

Serve over brown rice to make a "complete protein" dinner.



Ethiopian Groundnut Wat (Stew)

I wish I could start this post with, " I have been enjoying the people and rich culture here in ( insert small town in Ethiopia) I have especially been enjoying all of the wonderful, exotic flavors in the foods they eat here!" Alas, I have never been to Ethiopia or anywhere out of the country for that matter except for Mexico. Well, I am not one to let the fact that I am not well traveled hinder my ethnic cuisine enjoyment.
I love, adore, live for eating and trying new foods from far-away places. Isn't it wonderful after all to come across something entirely new to surprise your palate? I get a strange high when I can make a new ethnic dish all by myself in my home here in the suburbian desert. Notice I don't say "re-create" for I fully understand that my attempt to make "Ethiopian Groundnut Wat" or any other exotic dish could very well be an utter embarrassment or worse, insult to the people in question.

Well I think this dish turned out lovely, a true delight to eat a combination of flavors I would never have thought of putting together myself. I have to thank a fellow blogger, Vegan Aide at Weekly Vegan Menu for sharing one of her many wonderful dishes with me. I love her site not only because it is healthy, simple and she gives a cost breakdown of her meals but because she features flavorful meals from all across the globe! Score! Her site is Vegan as the title says which is wonderful I think because everybody could use more veggies in their daily lives. I have found that I have not given meat a second thought in the last few weeks since not eating it. I am not claiming vegetarianism since I don't plan on completely giving it up, just really limiting it.

I guess you can say I'm almost a vegetarian, mostly Organic, Raw enthusiast, Green loving kind of gal.

O.k. so here's the wonderful recipe.

I threw in a bit more of everything to make more for my big fam, so I will just post her recipe straight from her site. I will say that I will use less peanut butter the next time I make this. Again, I was not measuring exactly (as usual) so I might have used too much. So, while the peanut butter was an important addition for the cultural flair of this dish, I felt it smothered the other wonderful spices going on. I will also make sure to whisk it in a small amount of the hot liquid so it will incorporate into the dish better. I was getting big chunks of peantut butter in some bites.

* Changes I made:  Besides adding more of the ingredients, I used Organic Chicken broth instead of water
 ( I know, not very vegan of me) and I sliced the onion in wedges instead of mincing because that's how I like them and I minced the ginger instead of infusing it into the dish, for more flavor. I also suggest using more cardamom, it was yummy but hardly noticeable in my dish. I must say that roasting the cauliflower was an excellent idea as it adds a wonderful hearthy  flavor to the dish!  I put some of the veggies and lentils without the addition of the spices into my pressure cooker so my kids would eat this. I thought it was a little to much to ask for a 13 month old and a 4 and 5 year old to eat such a fragrant dish.  Bon Appetite!



SERVES  6        TIME  60 MINUTES

Ingredients:
1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into bite-size pieces
1 t olive oil
salt
1 t olive oil
1 onion, minced
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cubed
1/2 c red lentils
1/4 t chili pepper
2 cardamom pods, or 1/2 t ground
1 stick cinnamon
1/2 t fresh ground pepper
3 whole cloves
1 inch piece of ginger, bruised
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 c water
1/4 c peanut butter
salt to taste
1/4 c chopped peanuts
2 scallions, chopped

2 c arugula
lemon juice
salt



Putting it all together:

Toss the cauliflower in the olive oil, add salt and roast in a 350 oven for 30 minutes, or until the cauliflower is getting roasted, turning once.

In a large pot, heat the olive oil, add the onion, garlic, carrot, sweet potato, lentils, chili flakes, and the rest of the spices. Saute the vegetables until the onions are getting golden, stirring often.

Add the tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes are broken up.

Add the water, cover and cook the stew until the lentils and sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

When the cauliflower is ready add that and the peanut butter and stir well to mix. Add salt to taste.

Toss the arugula with the lemon juice and season with salt.
Serve garnished with scallions, peanuts and the arugula.

You may also put everything (except the peanut butter) in a crock pot and cook for 6 hours on low. Add the peanut butter in the last half hour. Roasting the cauliflower will give it a better flavor, too.

*UPDATE*

I have made this a few more times, tonight included and have been using Almond Butter instead of peanut butter and IMO it is much milder tasting and very creamy and complimenting to the other flavors. I also have used canned, stewed tomatoes in lou of fresh when not in season which taste just as good. Who knew tomatoes and almond butter would go good together in a dish?  I've been skipping the chili pepper and also using 'African Allspice' which is a blend of cinnamon, cloves, ginger ect. and is just easier for me cuz I'm lazy. ;)

Sweet Potato Hummus

Once again, if it helps you at all, please refer to hummus as "dip". I have found, over and over again that if I call it hummus, people turn their noses up in distaste ( whether or not they've actually tried) but if I say it's dip, I get a "Yummy" in response. Call it what you like, this hummus is a great midday snack. The sweet potatoes give it a nice underlying err, sweetness and added vitamins, Bonus!

Serve this with pita chips and fresh, raw veggies, we like broccoli and mini sweet peppers.

I use dry chickpeas and soaked them for a few hours before cooking with the sweet potatoes for 13 minutes in my pressure cooker. If you must use canned beans, look for the low-sodium variety. I think it's just as easy to use fresh beans and it's most definitely cheaper!

TIME  20-30 MINUTES     SERVES 6-8

You will need:

2 medium size sweet potatoes

1 cup fresh chickpeas or 1 can

1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

1/4 cup tahini ( paste made with sunflower seeds, available in most supermarkets)

1 lemon, juiced

1-2 teaspoons Kosher salt

1/2 - 1 cup reserved or hot water

Putting it all together:

Cook your chickpeas according to package directions, usually twice as much water as beans and takes about 30 minutes. If your using a pressure cooker, use 1 1/2 times the water, place whole sweet potatoes on top of beans and cook for 12-13 minutes on second ring.

Reserve any water from pot. Using a fork, peel sweet potatoes, discard peels. Using an immersion blender or a food processor, blend all ingredients together until super smooth adding hot water as needed to desired consistency.

Serve with fresh veggies or pita chips.
* Keeps for a week refridgerated in an airtight container