home // Recipes // Stew of Black-eyed Peas with Rice Pasta, Roasted Eggplant, and Kale

Meat-free, main dish, vegan, side dish, gluten-free

ingredients available locally when in season

Stew of Black-eyed Peas with Rice Pasta, Roasted Eggplant, and Kale

  • 2 15oz. cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained (or 2 cups dry beans soaked, cooked, and drained)
  • 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes
  • Half of an 8oz. box rice pasta (penne, spirals, or elbows)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 medium eggplant
  • 1 whole head garlic
  • 1 medium bunch kale, washed, trimmed, and coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup chopped parsley
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for sautéing, plus more for roasting
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Start by roasting both the eggplant and the whole head of garlic. These could be done on the same tray or baking dish, just remove one or the other as they are done. Preheat oven to 425°F. Halve eggplant lengthways and chop top off head of garlic (pointed end, not flat root end). Brush each cut side of eggplant liberally with olive oil and drizzle olive oil over cut end of garlic.

Place on a roasting pan or baking dish and place in oven for 30-40 minutes, or until eggplant is charred and very soft, and garlic is tender. Set aside till cool enough to handle. While roasting, cook pasta in lightly salted water till about three-quarters done, drain, rinse, and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a heavy stock pot over medium heat. Sauté onions till translucent and golden. Add crushed tomatoes and black-eyed peas. Bring to a simmer. Squeeze head of garlic to extract the roasted cloves, and add to pot.

Using a large spoon, scrape flesh of eggplant from skins. Discard skins and coarsely chop flesh and add to pot. Add parsley, give a quick stir to incorporate everything, then add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chopped kale, then cooked pasta just prior to serving (either to the pot, or each bowl as they are served up).

  • Alternatively, after adding tomatoes and beans, soak a pinch of saffron threads in a bit of the hot liquid, then add back to pot after the roasted garlic and eggplant.