Yesterday was the first day of school, and I don’t know who was more excited, my daughter or me. She’s in a new school and riding the bus for the first time, and, best of all, her best friend is in her class. She was so eager to start that yesterday she woke up at 4:30, got dressed, made her own lunch, and ate breakfast all before waking us up at 5:15. If this level of enthusiasm persists, I might be able to start sleeping until 6:00!
Since we were all involved in back-to-school preparations this weekend, I cooked only fast food–bean burritos, mac and “cheese”–for the past few nights . Last night I got back into the kitchen for some “real” cooking and used some lovely okra that I bought in Louisiana to make this combination of gumbo and Hoppin’ John: I pressure cooked 1 cup of black-eyed peas in 3 cups of water and added them to this scrumptious stew of okra and tomatoes. The okra as well as the onions give this spicy dish a slight sweetness that you wouldn’t expect, but I found it quite delicious.
Black-eyed Pea Gumbo
Ingredients
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic
- 4 cups vegetable broth, water, or a combination
- 2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 1 pound okra, tops removed and sliced
- 1 1/2 tsp. thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1-2 tsp. chopped chipotle peppers (canned in adobo)
- 1/4 tsp. Liquid Smoke (optional)
- 2 1/2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, plus cooking liquid (1 cup dried black-eyed peas cooked in 3 cups water)*
- salt to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large, non-stick stock pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and cook, stirring regularly, until they begin to brown, about 8 minutes. Add the bell pepper and celery, and cook for 3 more minutes. Add the tomato paste and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium heat until okra is done and mixture has thickened, about 45-55 minutes. Add more water as needed–this will be thicker than a soup but still have a good amount of broth. Serve over freshly cooked brown rice and add hot sauce at the table.
Notes
*You can use canned black-eyed peas–use 2 16-ounce cans, rinse them first and add some extra water or broth to the gumbo.
Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 1 hour(s)
Number of servings (yield): 6
Nutrition Facts
Makes 6-8 servings. For 6 servings, each serving contains: 153 Calories (kcal); 1 g Total Fat; (4% calories from fat); 9 g Protein; 30 g Carbohydrate; trace Cholesterol; 53 mg Sodium; 9 g Fiber; 111 mg Calcium
Eat your okra; it’s good for you! It’s low in calories and high in calcium and folate. If you’re trying to lower your cholesterol, adding some okra to your diet could help: The “sticky” type of soluble fiber in okra helps bind the cholesterol in your digestive tract and sweep it out of your body.
And truly, once it’s cooked, okra is NOT slimy!
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Fern
This was absolutely delicious. This will become a requested favorite from all my non-vegan family members.
Julie & Marty
I made this last night. It has so many ingredients and spices that I thought it would just explode with flavor. It didn’t. Not sure why, I followed the recipe exactly. My husband wouldn’t finish eating it. I have tons of leftovers and I am hoping it gets better with time because I have alot to eat by myself. It was good, but not something I would make again.
Andy
“1-2 tsp. chopped chipotle peppers (canned in adobo)”
Is that a misprint? I’ve never used chipotle peppers before but
that seems like a very small amount to use. Would you please double check
the ingredient quantities listed.
Susan Voisin
It’s correct. You can always use more if you like things very, very spicy.
Christabel
This recipe sounds delicious! I am starting off the year by going on a 21 day cleanse from processed food and will be adding this recipe to my meal plan! : ) Glad I found your website
Angelica
This was good! I didn’t want it to be spicy for my kids, so I left out the chipotle peppers & substituted the cayenne & liquid smoke with smoked paprika. Hubby & I did add chipotle hot sauce to our plates & it was yummy!
Cara O'Sullivan
Susan–I have yet to see fresh okra in the stores (I live in Utah)—would frozen okra work? I do see that out here and it seems readily available.
I love, love your recipes. If you ever begin to publish cookbooks, I’ll be first in line to purchase them. Your recipes have made it easier for me to go vegan–I’m not completely there yet, but I will be. Thank you for all you do.
— Cara O’Sullivan
Mona
I just made this tonight. I threw in frozen okra (since they are not in season right now) and it still was superb! I can see myself making this once a week. Thanks for the awesome deliciouness!
Brenda
Delicious! I served it with collard greens on the side and cornbread for New Year’s Eve.