Black eyed peas with spinach, leeks & pomegranate

Delicious Greek-inspired black eyed peas with spinach, leeks, pomegranates and fresh herbs. Perfect for Rosh Hashanah or any celebratory meal.

Have you ever been to Greece? I have not. But it’s definitely on my bucket list because I LOVE Greek food!

A while ago, DH kindly gave me Cookbook of the Jews of Greece by Nicholas Stavroulakis for Chanukah. It’s a great book, full of delicious recipes for everything from everyday dinners, salads and side dishes to elaborate YomTov sweets and special occasion fare. The author has also included background information about the various Jewish communities of Greece, plus humorous anecdotes and stories to give a real flavour of Greek Jewish life.

Rosh Hashanah menus

Last year, as Rosh Hashanah approached, I began to think about the festival’s symbolic foods as I planned my menus. There are numerous delicious edible symbols, including apple and honey – of course – plus leeks, spinach, pumpkin, black-eyed peas, pomegranates, carrots and many more.

Browsing this wonderful book, plus a number of Greek food websites, I ultimately combined several recipes from different sources to create this gorgeous Greek-inspired dish.

Greek-inspired black-eyed peas

I love Greek cuisine because of its fresh flavours and abundance of herbs and olive oil. This dish has all of that! I used fresh mint and dill, although you can also use parsley, oregano, or Greek basil if you prefer.

The leeks and spinach are gently cooked in olive oil before being combined with black eyed peas, pomegranate seeds and herbs, and a sweet and tangy dressing of more olive oil plus pomegranate syrup (pomegranate molasses). You can serve it straightaway, still warm, which is lovely. Alternatively allow to cool and serve at room temperature. Either way is delicious!

When to serve these delicious black-eyed peas

Last year, we ate this dish of black eye peas with leeks and spinach as a starter for our Rosh Hashanah dinner. It was a really tasty start to the meal, and we used our challah to soak up the delicious dressing.

However, it would also be a great vegetable side dish alongside your main course. Or a terrific addition to a buffet style lunch with lots of salads.

We simply placed a big bowlful on the table, and allowed people to serve themselves. However you could also portion out individual servings into small dishes or plates, garnish with some fresh herbs or a slice of lemon, and serve that way.

Of course you don’t have to wait till Rosh Hashanah to eat this dish! It’s just as good at any time, and makes a beautiful, nutritious salad that can be a vegan centrepiece dish, or a colourful and tasty side.

Ingredients in black eyed peas with leeks, spinach & pomegranate

To make this tasty Greek-inspired dish, you will need the following ingredients:

• Black eyed peas – I use tinned ones, but you can cook them from scratch if you prefer. You will need about 250g of cooked beans for this recipe. On Rosh Hashanah, black eyed peas symbolise our wish for a fruitful year ahead.
• Leeks – on Rosh Hashanah, leeks symbolise our desire to ‘cut off’ our enemies, as the Hebrew name, karsi, is similar to kares, meaning to cut off or destroy.
• Pomegranates – another delicious traditional RH food, as we wish that our good deeds should be as numerous as the seeds of a pomegranate.
• Spinach – a tasty wish for our enemies to be destroyed.
• Olive oil – no symbolism, but where would we be without it?!
• Pomegranate molasses – adds a tart as well as a sweet flavour to this salad. If you prefer your dressing a little sharper, simply add a squeeze of lemon juice or substitute a good quality thick balsamic vinegar. I didn’t use them here as some people prefer to avoid sour ingredients like vinegar on Rosh Hashanah.
• Fresh herbs – I used mint and dill, but you can use parsley, oregano, Greek basil or any combination you enjoy.
• Salt and pepper to taste.

A note about the herbs

This dish uses a lot of fresh herbs. They give it a wonderfully fragrant and delicious flavour. I have given weights (25g) and also ‘eyeball’ amounts in the recipe card below. But to help you gauge just how much I’m talking about, here is a photo of my dill and mint leaves, right before I chopped them up.

Once chopped it was probably around a cupful of chopped herbs – I needed to scoop them up in two hands. I hope this helps!

Making this Greek-inspired Rosh Hashanah recipe

Especially if you use tinned black eyed peas, this recipe is super simple.

Drain the black-eyed peas and set aside. Thoroughly wash the leeks and spinach, then simply sauté the vegetables and combine with the remaining ingredients.

You can serve it warm straightaway or leave to cool and serve as a salad. I usually leave it a little while, as I like to get as much prepared ahead as possible! Leaving the black eyed peas to stand for a while also allows all the yummy flavours to mingle so it’s extra delicious when you’re ready to eat.

A Greek holiday at home!

While it’s not the same as visiting Greece, serving this delicious dish alongside other Greek or Greek-inspired food, can be like little holiday at home! Try some or all of the following dishes, for a real Greek feast!

• Greek lemon potatoes
• Mediterranean vegetable and halloumi traybake
• Easy feta dip
• Homemade pita bread
• Spanakopita – from Supergolden Bakes
• Greek salad – from Farmersgirl Kitchen
• Butter bean humous – from Hungry Healthy Happy

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📖 Recipe

Black eyed peas with spinach, leek and pomegranate

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Delicious Greek-inspired black eyed peas with spinach, leeks, pomegranates and fresh herbs.

5 from 5 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish, Starter

Cuisine Greek, Jewish

Servings 4

Calories 248 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 400 g tin of black eyed peas (or 250g/9 oz cooked and drained black eyed peas)
• 1 large leek or 2 small ones
• 250 g spinach
• 2-4 tablespoon olive oil (divided)
• 25 g fresh dill (approx. handful)
• 25 g fresh mint (approx. 6-7 sprigs)
• 75 g pomegranate seeds
• 2 tablespoon pomegranate syrup (pomegranate molasses) (see notes)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Drain the black eyed peas and set aside.
• Trim and wash the leek thoroughly. Slice into 7-8mm (approx. ¼ inch) pieces. Wash the spinach and spin dry in a salad spinner, or squeeze out excess water in a clean tea towel. If the spinach leaves are large, shred them into smaller pieces. Remove any stems from the spinach and chop them into bits.
• Heat 1-2 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the leeks and spinach stems, and saute for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are soft and beginning to brown in places.
• Add the spinach leaves to the pan, and continue to cook. Stir occasionally, until the spinach has completely wilted down, and any liquid that collects in the bottom of the pan has been driven off.
• Remove from the heat and tip the leeks and spinach into a bowl.
• Wash the herbs and remove and discard the stalks. Roughly chop the leaves. Add to the leeks and spinach together with the drained black eyed peas, most of the pomegranate seeds (reserve some for garnish), another 1-2 tablespoon olive oil, and the pomegranate molasses. Mix gently but make sure everything is well combined.
• Taste and season with salt and/or pepper as desired.
• Transfer to a serving dish and scatter over the reserved pomegranate seeds. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

I used fresh mint and dill, and it was delicious! However if you prefer you can use parsley, oregano, Greek basil, or a combination, and the salad will still be yummy.

The pomegranate molasses (pomegranate syrup) adds a tart as well as a sweet flavour to this salad. If you prefer your dressing a little sharper, feel free to add a squeeze of lemon juice or to substitute the pomegranate molasses for thick balsamic vinegar. 

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Black eyed peas with spinach, leek and pomegranate

Amount per Serving

Calories

248

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

8

g

12

%

Saturated Fat

 

1

g

6

%

Polyunsaturated Fat

 

1

g

Monounsaturated Fat

 

5

g

Sodium

 

64

mg

3

%

Potassium

 

793

mg

23

%

Carbohydrates

 

36

g

12

%

Fiber

 

10

g

42

%

Sugar

 

10

g

11

%

Protein

 

11

g

22

%

Vitamin A

 

6994

IU

140

%

Vitamin C

 

30

mg

36

%

Calcium

 

129

mg

13

%

Iron

 

5

mg

28

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword black eyed peas, herbs, leek, peas, pomegranate, spinach

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