Black-Eyed Peas And Collard Greens Croquettes
If black-eyed peas and collard greens are a New Year’s Day tradition for you, then why not enjoy them together in croquette form?
Today, I’ve partnered with Honest Cooking and Cavit to bring y’all these Black-Eyed Peas And Collard Greens Croquettes. Thank you so much for supporting the brands that keep this SriLankan Runnin!
In the early years of my life here in Atlanta, I never quite jumped on the whole Southern New Year’s tradition of black-eyed peas and collard greens. My first introduction to black-eyed peas and collard greens was at a friend’s house – where she had cooked them up extra mushy with ham hock. Alas, my taste-buds were not tickled and so I stayed far, far away from them – together or separately.
Then, fast forward twelve years, and my parents moved here to Atlanta. Their first New Year’s Day here, they invited my daughter and I over for lunch and guess what my mom had prepared? Yup, there on the dining table was a dish filled with black-eyed peas and collard greens! “When in Rome…” my mom said as she ladled spoonfuls onto our plates. But, these were not the mushy black-eyed peas and collard greens I had bumped into many years ago. My mom had put her own Sri Lankan spin on black-eyed peas and collard greens, and my taste-buds did a happy dance at this perfectly seasoned and cooked version!
Since then, black-eyed peas and collard greens have become a staple in our home. Nowadays, My daughter and I enjoy them year round AND on New Year’s Day – in anything from stir fries, curries and vegetarian hashes.
This year, for New Year’s Day, I figured I would take the black-eyed peas, collard greens and potato hash I make and croquette-fy it.
Aaaaaaaaaannnnnd, my friends, that’s how these Black-Eyed Peas And Collard Greens Croquettes were born! These are really simple to make and are so flavor packed from the caramelized onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, and coriander. And, the breaded and fried coating doesn’t hurt either!
Paired with Cavit wines, these Black-Eyed Peas And Collard Greens Croquettes are sure to be a tasty hit at your New Year’s Eve get-together or New Years Day lunch party.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 red onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic smashed and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger freshly grated
- 1 cup frozen black eye peas
- 1 cup frozen collard greens
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon red chili powder optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt or more according to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 boiled potatoes
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Add the olive oil and red onion to a pan and sauté over medium heat till onion begins to caramelize (about 15-20 minutes).
- Add in the garlic and ginger and sauté for a couple more minutes.
- Then add in the frozen collard greens and frozen black-eyed peas and cook till they are warm.
- Add in the spices and stir well - then, take the mixture off the flame.
- Using a fork, roughly mash in the skinned boiled potatoes and salt and pepper. You might want to taste the mixture at this point to make sure you have enough salt and pepper in it so you can adjust at this point.
- Then, let the mixture cool.
- Meanwhile, add the breadcrumbs to a plate and whisk the eggs together in a bowl.
- When mixture is cool enough to handle, roll spoonfuls into balls.
- Dip balls in egg wash and bread crumbs till all the mixture is used up.
- Heat the oil for frying - making sure it is well heated. (You can use a wooden spoon to check for this by dipping the handle-end of the spoon into the oil. If the oil is ready for frying, it will bubble around the handle. You could also throw in a popcorn kernel, which will pop between 325 and 350 degrees Fahrenheit when thrown in the oil)
- Fry the Croquettes 3 or 4 at a time till golden, and drain on paper towels.
- Enjoy the crispy croquettes with sambal oelek and Cavit Wine.
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p.s mushy peas/collards = worst . LOL! but not these! YUM!
I love that wine! and all the southern hospitality! Yes, bring on the lucky peas!
Croquette-fy – a new word for my vocabulary!!! Love it. And these croquettes. We always had black-eyed peas and collard greens around the New Year when we lived in the south. Yep, when in Rome. We have not continued that tradition since moving up north, but maybe that needs to change starting with these delicious croquettes and the WINE!!! What a great combo my friend, would love to sit down and enjoy a mess of these croquettes and a glass of this vino with you. Since we just got dumped on with a foot of snow last night, that won’t be happening anytime soon. We only lost our power for a couple hours this time, but time to get out the shovels and snowblower this morning. Wishing you a fabulously successful New Year in 2017 – may all your hopes and dreams come true. I know you will go far. XOXO
Just goes to show that sometimes it takes more than one time to try an ingredient or recipe! Years ago I didn’t like cilantro or guacamole and now I LOVE both. I’ve never had collard greens before, but we have a similar green around here which I bet would work wonderfully in this recipe! i look for any excuse to eat more fiber rich foods and the fact that these little bites are breaded and fried only makes them more tempting 🙂 Hope you have a wonderful year ahead and looking forward to seeing more yummy recipes! XO
Don’t laugh at me, but I’ve totally never heard of the Southern New Year’s tradition of black-eyed peas and collard greens! LOVE that your mom did her own spin on the classic and changed your mind about it altogether. 🙂 They sound seriously so good in vegetarian hashes. YUM! These croquettes look completely irresistible. Ya know, Shashi, you’ve got this really creative, wonderful way of reinterpreting classics. It inspires me to no end. <3 It's been so wonderful getting to know you this year, my friend. I'm looking forward to many more years of being blogging buddies with ya! Wishing you a truly fantastic new year. Big hugs and lots of love! xoxo
What a coincidence, today I have soaked some black eyed peas to make a variety rice recipe, but it looks like I will go with your recipe. Thanks for sharing it Shashi. May the Bluebirds of happiness follow you through the New Year… 🙂
I sincerely believe that croquettes simply make everything better <3 That sounds like comfort food to the max–happy new year to you and the fam! xo
Omg this looks amazing! I love how healthy it is too!
What a fun idea! I don’t make croquettes near enough, and I clearly need to fix that problem. But to take the classic black-eyed peas and collards and turn them into croquettes? Now that my friend is a fun recipe twist for sure! I didn’t used to like black-eyed peas, but I am now a big fan…and I definitely plan on eating some on New Year’s Day for good luck. I should make them into croquette form though! 🙂
These look delicious. We always have greens, black eyed peas, rice, skillet cornbread and pork for New Years. Common accompaniments would be pepper sauce and diced onion. The greens represent folding money, peas represent coins, pork represents prosperity, the cornbread represents gold. I think the rice is for fertility.
Your recipe looks incredible. To make it gluten free, I’ll use rice and gluten free bread crumbs. Thanks for sharing this recipe. The seasoning is spot on.
Love this idea… You make is look so easy and pretty!! Looks and sounds so fab..!
Black eyed peas are so perfect for the new year. These are a great appetizer!
I love this way of eating my New Year’s peas and greens! Very cool idea.
These look and sound fabulous! What a genius idea to turn black-eyed peas and collard greens into croquettes. Beautiful photos too.
Cavit wines sound like a lovely compliment to your delicious Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens Croquettes! I love the idea of enjoying these traditional New Year foods in this delicious format! Happy New Year!
These look absolutely divine! Such a lovely idea for festive new years parties!