"It’s New Year’s and an excellent reason to make a dish with black-eyed peas, a good luck tradition for the new year. Black-eyed peas are great any time of the year, but sometimes a celebratory excuse is all we need. This is a straightforward dish, black-eyed peas prepared in a salsa to be served with lightly browned flour quesadillas filled with melty jack cheese. Perfect for lunch. The recipe can be as simple as you want. You can use canned black-eyed peas, roasted bell peppers, and green chiles, or you can cook the peas or roast the chiles and peppers yourself. In the batch I’ve prepared here, I used canned black-eyed peas, and roasted my own poblano and red bell peppers. The chiles were mild, so I added some chopped pickled jalapeños. Happy New Year!..."
INGREDIENTS
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About 3 1/4 to 4 cups cooked black-eyed peas (2 15.5-ounce cans, rinsed, drained)
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1/2 to 2/3 cups of chopped, cooked, mild green chiles (2 large poblanos or 3 anaheims, roasted, seeded, and chopped) AND/OR 1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapeños (to taste)
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1/2 to 2/3 cups of chopped roasted red bell pepper (can use jarred marinated or roast fresh red bell peppers by charring over a gas flame or under a broiler, placing in a covered bowl for a few minutes, wiping off the char, seeding, and chopping)
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6 to 8 green onions, thinly sliced including at least half of the greens, about 1/2 to 2/3 cup total
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1 bunch of cilantro, chopped, tender stems included (about a cup)
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2 Tbsp olive oil
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2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
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1 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
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Large pinch of ground cumin
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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Freshly ground black pepper
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1 dozen flour tortillas
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8 ounces Monterey jack cheese, sliced or grated