Tag: Fennel

chard & fennel with tomatoes & black-eyed peas

tomatoes chard beans fennel black-eyed peas

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This recipe is loosely based on one in Paula Wolfert’s Mediterranean Grains and Greens.  I love the flavor of fennel with the chard, and I love that the onions and chard stems and fennel mingle together into a luscious, syrupy sweetness that goes so well with the chard leaves and tomatoes. I usually just eat this for dinner, but you could serve it with garlic-scrubbed whole-grain toast or rice.

2 cups dried black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours or overnight
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 bay leaves
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2 large onions, diced
sea salt or kosher salt
2 cups diced fennel bulb
2-3 large bunches Swiss chard, stems chopped into ½-inch slices and leaves cut into 1-inch ribbons (separate from each other)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
¼ teaspoon fennel seeds, smashed in a mortar
freshly ground black pepper

1. Drain and rinse the soaked peas.  Cover the black-eyed peas with 2 inches of water in a large pot, toss in the whole garlic cloves and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let simmer until the beans are completely tender (you can squish them between your tongue and roof of your mouth). This will probably take about 30 minutes, but keep testing.
2. Meanwhile, sauté the onions in the olive oil in a large soup pot or saucepan with 1 teaspoon salt until they begin to release their liquid. Add the fennel bulb and chard stems, and cook over high heat until soft and aromatic.
3. Add the greens to the pan, along with the tomatoes and fennel seeds and grindings of pepper, and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chard leaves are tender.
4. Drain the cooked black-eyed peas, reserving the broth for use in another recipe (as soup stock). Add the black-eyed peas to the saucepan along with enough broth to moisten everything nicely. Simmer for a couple of minutes to combine the flavors, then try it and add salt to taste. I like this dish kind of as a soupy stew consistency, but just add the amount of bean cooking broth to your liking.
5. Serve warm or cool. It tastes even better the next day, as with all bean dishes.