Black-eyed peas (the legume, not the musical group), also known as mavromatika, are popularly served in Greece as a salad, in many different variations which incorporate various types of seasonings and dressings. Mavromatika can be enjoyed as a meze (what an entrée translates to in Greek), or as a main course.
Diving deep into Greek gastronomy, you may find out that you can not avoid mavromatika. Rich in vitamins B1 and B2, these highly nutritious beans that owe their name to the black spot they bear on their seeds are extremely celebrated all across Greece.
Here is a very special mavromatika recipe which uses black-eyed peas and parsley produced in Karditsa, a beautiful town located in southwestern Thessaly.
The inescapable black-eyed pea salad (mavromatika) from Karditsa
Print RecipeIngredients
- 17.6 oz (500 gr) dried black-eyed peas
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch parsley
- 7 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of vinegar
- Coarse salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Wash the black-eyed peas under running water.
- Boil the peas for about 5 minutes and then pour away the dark-colored water.
- Add fresh water to the pot and cook the peas for another 25 minutes. Careful, they should not become too soft.
- In the meantime, wash the parsley, cut their stems and chop their leaves.
- Cut garlic cloves into thin slices and place in boiling water for about 5-7 seconds.
- For the sauce: blend the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and parsley stems in a blender.
- Once the peas are boiled, remove from heat. Pour out the water over a strainer.
- Place the peas into a bowl while they are still hot, pour sauce over them and let them cool down.
- To serve, sprinkle garlic and parsley over the top. Add an extra splash of olive oil if desired.
