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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