SimplyFreshFare

Crowder peas are a common southern variety of cowpea bearing pods with closely spaced seeds.  The pod has a beautiful aesthetic of mixed green and purple values. This Saturday during my family’s weekly Farmer’s Market visit we picked up several vegetables for my 6 month old daughter’s baby food as well as the crowder peas to incorporate into our Saturday Meal.  I remembered seeing my Grandmother sit down at the kitchen table on late summer afternoons with a large silver cooking pot and bowl abounding with these unique pea pods. She would shuck away the peas as she sipped on sweet tea and entertained her family with conversation. Just the memory tempted my appetite for these southern earthy flavored beans that look very similar to black eyed peas when shucked away from their colorful pod.

My husband and I dined this evening on a flavorful NY Strip Steak from a local cattle farmer and fresh succotash with ingredients from our Farmer’s Market trip.  We enjoyed the meal as the twinkling lights, we hung from our outdoor umbrella,  set the perfect stage for a romantic southern meal on a cool crisp autumn evening.

I have shared the succotash recipe below. Succotash is a food dish consisting primarily of corn and Lima beans or other shell beans. Enjoy!

Succotash Featuring Fresh Crowder Peas

Ripe tomatoes

Lima beans

Fresh corn on the cob

Crowder Peas

Salt and Pepper to taste

(1) Tbl spoon brown sugar

 

Stew tomatoes  for 1 hour with salt, pepper and brown sugar.

Broil crowder peas and lima beans in seperate pots until beans are soft but not over cooked. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside. For best results cook with 1 to 2 cup of water max to retrain natural juices.

Shuck corn and cut fresh corn kernels off the cob. Set aside.

In a large serving bowl combine all ingredients. Serve at room temperature and garnish with coarse pepper and chopped basil if desired.