Barley pilaf with artichoke hearts and chick peas

We first tried this recipe in 2007 when our friend Sandhya served it at a party. The recipe is here: https://www.food.com/recipe/barley-pilaf-with-chickpeas-and-artichoke-hearts-301799 Our modifications: first, we halve the amount of marinated artichoke hearts (to a 6 oz jar), drain, and slice them vertically in half. Second, for the pesto, we prefer Safeway private label brand or… Continue reading Barley pilaf with artichoke hearts and chick peas

Pulao with black-eyed peas  

We had some leftover, unused black-eyed peas from the Ghanaian dish (red-red), so I decided to try out this recipe to use the remaining cup.  Before starting this recipe, I boiled the soaked,drained peas in water (about 1 cup peas to 3 cups water) until tender (about 30 mins).  Here is the recipe by Aarti Sequeira:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/black-eyed-peas-pulao-recipe.html.… Continue reading Pulao with black-eyed peas  

Ghanaian black-eyed pea stew with fried plantain (red-red)

Recipe is here: http://thespiceisland.blogspot.com/2010/04/red-red-greatest-recipe-known-to.html?m=1 We reduced the oil to ½ cup (from 1 cup). This recipe calls for dried shrimp, so it is not vegetarian. I read somewhere that West African cuisine utilizes smoked shrimp, as opposed to dried shrimp. To mimic the flavor of smoked shrimp, we combined tiny dried shrimp (from an Asian… Continue reading Ghanaian black-eyed pea stew with fried plantain (red-red)

Split yellow pea soup

Recipe loosely based on: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/yellow-split-pea-soup-recipe.html.  Using a large Dutch oven, sauté about 2 oz bacon (cut into matchsticks) until rendered and browned, then set aside.  Add 1 chopped onion, 3 carrots (peeled and chopped), 4 stalks chopped celery, 5-7 sprigs thyme (leaves only), and 2 bay leaves.  Sauté until fragrant, then add 8 cups low… Continue reading Split yellow pea soup