black-eyed pea cakes with paprika lime cream
i love black-eyed peas. they are one of the most inexpensive items in the supermarket and it makes me love them more! dried beans are pantry staples for me, so i always try to find creative ways to use beans, like in my smokey turkey black-eyed pea and cajun black-eyed pea stew with sausage recipes. i have been thinking about trying a black-eyed pea cakes for a while and i am so glad that i finally decided to try making this recipe. it is packed with flavor and very filling. the paprika lime cream is the perfect way to bright up the cake.
ingredients:
- 2 cups dried black-eyed peas -
- water -
- 1/2 onion - quartered
- 3 cloves garlic - smashed
- 2 teaspoons olive oil -
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- 1/2 onion - chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper - chopped
- 1 jalapeno - seeded, chopped
- 1 teaspoon paprika -
- 1 teaspoon cumin -
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder -
- 1 egg - lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs -
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil - divided
- - paprika-lime cream
- 1/3 cup sour cream -
- 1 teaspoon paprika -
- juice of 1/2 lime -
- 1 teaspoon cilantro - finely chopped
- salt/pepper -
instructions:
- cover the black-eyed peas with water and soak overnight. drain.
- in a large stock-pot, cover the beans with water. salt the water generously. add in the quartered onions and smashed garlic. bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about an hour or until the beans are tender. drain well. set aside.
- preheat a skillet over medium-high heat. add the vegetable oil. once hot, add in the garlic, onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno. saute until the veggies are slightly tender. add in the paprika, cumin and chili powder. saute for a minute longer. add in the reserved black-eyed peas. stir for few minutes until all the flavors marry. taste, season with salt/pepper to taste. remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool.
- once cooled stir in the egg, and panko breadcrumbs. using a masher, mash the mixture. i mashed most of the mixture and left some of the beans whole for added texture.
- preheat a skillet over medium high heat. once hot, add the some of the oil, just to coat the pan.
- meanwhile, spoon some of the mixture into your hands. form a ball and then flatten the ball into patties. carefully place into the hot skillet. allow to cook and brown on each side for about 4-5 minutes. i cooked 4 black-eyed pea cakes at a time and would add more oil for each batch. serve or garnish with paprika lime cream sauce.
- for the paprika lime cream - combine all the ingredients in a bowl. taste, season with salt/pepper to taste. refrigerate until ready to use.
i used dried black-eyed peas. they are drier than canned black-eyed peas and taste fresher, in my opinion. if you used canned beans, rinse well to remove the metallic taste and dry them extremely well before adding to the mixture, or the cake may fall apart. canned beans tend to contain more moisture.
