wholesome winter stews

I am sure you all remember the challenges for the food blog awards. Working with humble ingredients is great inspiration. Pulses have been on the menu and the dishes are getting healthier and healthier, in a truly Greek manner. I made a black-eyed beans stew with greens, seskoula, these taste a bit like chard, spinach and added a few raisins and pine nuts.

Greek cuisine features more vegan dishes than you can actually imagine. We might be famous for souvlaki and moussaka but the heart of a Greek kitchen will always lie with a gran! My grandmas bring up an array of lenten dishes prior to big religious holidays, it’s all pulses and greens. Black-eyed beans are on my top list of pulses. Pairing them with some spinach or chard, black-eyed beans can be an ideal as a side and it is filling enough as a main dish. I have also seen this lovely dish getting more attention in our tavernas and tsipouradika, (meze dining) and I am really excited they start to feature more traditional dishes in mainstream restaurants.

Truth is, though, not everyone is fond of pulses, partly because of the preparation time it takes to soften them prior to cooking. As is the case for most pulses, the fresher they are, the quicker they cook. The black-eyed beans however, need no soaking at all.

I love this dish for its wholesomeness and refreshing touch of greens. I couldn’t help adding to this Greek classic a handful of plump raisins and pine nuts to make it a tad more special. Here is what you will need:

Print Recipe

Black eyed beans with spinach, raisins and pine nuts

Ingredients

• 250 gr black-eyed beans
• 200 ml olive oil
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 750 gr greens chard or spinach, roughly chopped
• 2 ripe tomatoes grated
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tsp of red wine vinegar
• 50 gr toasted pine nuts
• 80 gr raisins
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Put the black-eyed beans in a pot with ample water and bring to the boil. Leave for 7-8 minutes and discard the water, this is to avoid them darkening.
• Return the beans in the pot and pour in enough water to cover. Use the lid and simmer on low to medium heat, for 25-30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, use a frying pan to sautee the onions and garlic in half the olive oil. Add in the chopped greens and steam for around 10 minutes.
• Once your greens are ready, add them in the pot with the black eyed beans, along with the grated tomatoes, tomato paste and vinegar and the rest of the olive oil.
• Bring to the boil and let them cook for another 10 minutes. Your beans must be super tender by now. Add the raisins before removing the pot from the fire to plump up.
• Serve with some toasted pine nuts.

From Athens with love

PS This is part of my challenges for VIMA food blog competition, delicious food using humble ingredients. Have you voted? Here is the link, just click on the image below to get directed to my profile.

UPDATE: The competition has ended – thanks for following through, check my last competition post here.

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