Senegal’s black-eyed pea or beans salad AKA saladu ñebbe is a very great way of using black eyed-pea, very filling and goes very well with partially ripe fried plantains.
Happy New year. I hope this year brings joy and peace to you and your household.
The first post for this year is Senegal’s black-eyed pea salad. We normally have a ton of black-eyed peas or beans in the house. We use it for stews, rice, soups etc. It is very delicious and one of my favourite beans.
For the black-eyed pea salad, you will need cucumber, tomatoes and red bell pepper in addition to the black-eyed peas or beans. There is also cumin and scotch bonnet pepper which pairs incredibly with the salad. The salad dressing is a simple concoction of lime juice, olive oil and goes perfectly with the beans.
After mixing everything together, let the salad rest to absorb all the flavours. You can serve this with rice for a full meal or with partially ripe fried plantains. Just get the plantains to be a little crisp on the edges.
Goodness! 2018 will be great.
- 2 cups raw black-eyed peas/ beans soaked overnight (plan ahead and soak the beans overnight to cook faster)
- 1/2 cup / 120 ml olive oil
- 1/4cup/ 60 ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- half bunch of parsley chopped
- 1 medium cucumber seeded and chopped
- 2 tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 4-6 spring onions chopped
- scotch bonet pepper or habanero pepper seeded and finely minced
- 1- 2 teaspoons grounded cumin
- salt and black pepper to taste
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Boil the black-eyed peas or beans in a pot with the water until tender. Towards the end of boiling, add salt to taste and boil till tender. The beans should easily mash between your fingers when cooked. Drain with a colander and spread to cool the beans.
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Meanwhile, whisk together the lime juice and parsley in a large bowl. Continue whisking as you slowly drizzle in the olive oil to make a smooth dressing.
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Add the black-eyed peas or beans, spring onions, bell pepper, tomato cucumber, and minced pepper to the bowl. Season the mixture with black pepper, 1 teaspoon grounded cumin, adding more if desired and salt if needed. Use a big spoon to toss the salad.
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Cover and set aside at room temperature for at least 1 hour, or refrigerate up to overnight to marinate and meld the flavors. Serve chilled or at room temperature. This salad goes well with partially ripe fried plantains.
Plan ahead and soak the raw beans over-night. It enables the beans to cook faster and makes it plum and beautiful for the salad. When tossing the salad together, be gentile else the beans will turn mushy and messy.
Adapted from Chef Pierre Thiam originally published in his cook book Yolele