The New Year is fast upon us. For some, this means a celebration with family, friends, and black eyed peas. When welcoming the dawn of a new year, it has been tradition to serve a hearty bowl of black eyed peas for luck. In some cases, that means dusting off the recipe from years past and doing the same old thing that’s comfortable and easy, but, if you’re a serious foodie and go by our motto, "Explore your taste", then we have a recipe built for you!

Inspired by a traditional French recipe for cassoulet, this Black eyed pea dish has the best of old world and new world. Not difficult to prepare but a little time intensive and well worth the investment…

New Year Cassoulet, An American Twist

Serves 6

1 lb Black eyed Peas, Fresh

1 ½ qt. Water

½ Bottle of Pinot Noir

½ lb Prosciutto Ends, Small Dice

1 lb Ox Tails, count how many pieces

2 Cups Chopped Onion

3 Cloves Garlic, Smashed

1 Cup Chopped Carrots

1 Cup Chopped Celery

3 Sprigs of fresh Thyme

4 Whole Cloves

5 Whole AllSpice Berries

1 ½ tsp. Whole Black Pepper

2 Bay leaves

2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Can of Muir Glen Stewed Tomatoes

2 Cups of Cornbread Crumbs, For Topping

Salt to taste, approx 2 tsp

Sachet bag or Cheesecloth

How To: 

• In a large pot, render the diced prosciutto over medium heat till crisp.
• Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and sauté till caramelized.
• Add the Oxtail and sear on all sides.
• Add all the spices to a sachet bag or cheese cloth and add with water, wine and tomatoes.
• Simmer for two hours adding any additional water if needed.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Remove the sachet of spices and the oxtail bones, counting them helps for accountability.
• Place the peas in a Casserole dish and place the cornbread topping on top.
• Bake for 30-45 minutes
• Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes
• Enjoy with the other half of the pinot noir bottle!!!

Tips and tricks:

• If you are using dried black eyed peas, presoak them over night then drain the soak liquid.

• Buy the prosciutto ends across from the deli counter, they are only a ¼ the price.

• All the vegetables can be purchased from our produce dept. pre-prepped.  Go to the bulk dept for the spices, it will save you a bundle and be guaranteed fresh.