West African Black-Eyed Pea "Akara" Fritters + Quick Pickled Carrots
West African Black-Eyed Pea "Akara" Fritters + Quick Pickled Carrots
Black-eyed peas have had culinary roots in the southern United States for over 300 years and are a staple of "soul food." Eating them at the start of a new year is thought to bring prosperity and good luck for the year. One account of their good fortune goes back to the Civil War when General Sherman stripped the countryside of vegetation but spared the black-eyed pea plants, which fed the war survivors. Black-eyed peas' good-luck roots are unclear, but the practice of eating them on New Year's Day holds firm. I love ethnic foods because they're so varied and unique, and best of all, they usually are so robustly flavorful without needing to resort to unhealthy artificial ingredients.
I wanted to discover a new recipe for black-eyed peas for our Sticky Fingers Cooking kid chefs. In many parts of the world, cooks use lentils and beans to make fritters. Black-eyed peas originated in West Africa (and West African food is a flavorful and fun way to help your child eat more vegetables). I stumbled upon a West African street food called "Akara" (ah-KAR-ah) or black-eyed pea fritters. Sticky Fingers Cooking is putting our twist on these crisp, light-as-air black-eyed pea fritters. They are typically sold on street corners and markets throughout West Africa, usually as a sandwich on fresh baguettes. So we thought we would stuff them into fresh pita bread with sweet carrot pickles. These fritters are deliciously light, healthy, easy to make with your kids, and totally addictive, and they make a great snack with a cool, refreshing drink (try our Honey Ice Slushies). The Quick Pickled Carrots are simple to make. We'll be eating them with our Black-Eyed Pea "Akara" Fritters, but they make a great condiment for just about everything. We also have a Legume-Free version.
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- pan-fry :
to fry in a pan in a small amount of fat.
- pickle :
to preserve or flavor a food by covering it with a salty and/or sweet liquid brine.
Equipment Checklist
- Medium bowl
- Cutting board + kid-safe knife
- Grater
- Dry measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Can opener
- Colander
- Small saucepan
- Liquid measuring cup
- Large bowl + immersion blender (or a food processor)
- Nonstick skillet
- Paper towels
Ingredients
West African Black-Eyed Pea "Akara" Fritters + Quick Pickled Carrots
- Pickled Carrots:
- 1 green onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 C coarsely-grated carrots (about 2 carrots)
- 1 tsp salt
- black pepper to taste
- 1/4 C honey/agave nectar
- 1/4 C vinegar
- Black-Eyed Pea Fritters:
- 1 to 2 green onions
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pinch salt + more to sprinkle on top
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp honey/agave nectar
- 2 T all-purpose flour **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free/nut-free flour)**
- 1 C canned black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed **(for LEGUME ALLERGY follow Legume-Free "Akara" Fritters recipe)**
- vegetable oil, for frying
- pita bread, corn tortillas, or French bread **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub gluten-free/nut-free pita bread or corn tortillas)**
Food Allergen Substitutions
West African Black-Eyed Pea "Akara" Fritters + Quick Pickled Carrots
- Gluten/Wheat: Substitute gluten-free/nut-free flour. Substitute gluten-free/nut-free pita bread or corn tortillas.
- Legume: Follow the Legume-Free West African "Akara" Fritters recipe.
Instructions
West African Black-Eyed Pea "Akara" Fritters + Quick Pickled Carrots
pickling intro
We will be learning about Pickling first today! Pickling is the process of preserving or expanding the lifespan of food by either anaerobic fermentation in brine or immersion in vinegar. The resulting food is called a pickle. Pickling can preserve perishable foods for months. Pickling began 4,000 years ago using cucumbers native to India. This was used as a way to preserve food for out-of-season use and for long journeys, especially by sea. The term pickle is derived from the Dutch word "pekel," meaning "brine."
chop + grate + toss
We'll start with the pickled carrots. Have your kids chop up 1 green onion and 1 garlic clove and add them to a medium bowl. Next, grate about 2 carrots to measure 1 cup. Toss the carrots with the onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste.
boil + dissolve + pour
Pour 1/4 cup honey and 1/4 cup vinegar into a small saucepan on your stovetop and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until the honey dissolves. Once the mixture is at a rapid boil, turn off the heat. Carefully pour the hot vinegar mixture over the seasoned carrots, let cool, and enjoy atop your fritters!
fritters + frying intro
We are also making "akara" (ah-KAR-ah), or West African fritters and will be frying them today. Frying is the cooking of food in oil or another fat. Chemically, oils and fats are the same, differing only in melting point, and the distinction is only made when needed. Fats can reach much higher temperatures than water at normal atmospheric pressure. Through frying, one can sear or even carbonize the surface of foods while caramelizing sugars. The food is cooked much more quickly and has a characteristic crispness and texture.
chop + measure + combine
Have your kids chop 1 to 2 green onions and add them to a large bowl (for use with an immersion blender) or a food processor. Measure and add 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon honey, and 2 tablespoons flour. Add **1 cup of black-eyed peas**, drained and rinsed, into the bowl.
blend + heat + drizzle
Process the mixture with your immersion blender or food processor until a smooth batter forms, adding a little water if necessary. When finished, the batter should be similar to the consistency of light hummus. Next, heat a nonstick skillet on your stovetop and drizzle some oil to lightly coat the pan's bottom.
drop + fry
Using a spoon, carefully drop 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of batter onto your skillet and fry until golden brown, about 3 to 5 min, turning the fritters once. Repeat until you use all of the batter.
drain + sprinkle + serve
Remove the fritters, drain on a paper towel, and keep warm. Sprinkle them with salt (if you wish). To serve, split open 1/2 of a pita bread and fill it with 1 to 2 fritters and a generous spoonful of pickled carrots. Alternatively, you can arrange the "akara" fritters with the pita bread on a platter and serve with the pickled carrots.
Hi! I'm Black-eyed Pea!
“But don't worry, I haven't been in a fistfight. My black eye isn't a bruise but more of a black circle where I was connected to my pod. Besides, we get along well with others, especially rice, veggies, and pork!"
History
- The black-eyed pea or bean is a subspecies of the cowpea and part of the family of legumes that includes beans and peas. Although called a pea, it is actually a bean.
- Black-eyed peas originated in Africa thousands of years ago. Enslaved Africans brought them to the American colonies in the 17th century.
- There is a legend that Sherman's Union army raided the Confederate army's food supplies during the Civil War but ignored black-eyed peas and salted pork because they thought they were only for animal feed. Instead, these rejected foods came to represent good luck for the South because they would survive on them during the winter.
- On New Year's Day, in the American South, they traditionally eat a black-eyed pea dish called Hoppin' John with collard greens and cornbread to ensure a prosperous new year. The peas symbolize coins, the greens represent paper money, and the cornbread symbolizes gold.
Anatomy
- Black-eyed peas are small beans with a black circle, or eye, in their slight curve. This spot is where the bean is attached to the pod. They grow in narrow pods, about 3 to 6 inches long, and each pod contains an average of 6 to 13 beans.
- A black-eyed pea plant can be either a bush or a vine and likes to grow in warm soil.
- There are several varieties of black-eyed peas, including heirlooms. The common type found in stores is the California Blackeye, a greenish-white bean with a black spot. Others may have a pink, red, brown, or green eye.
- How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- The correct harvest time for black-eyed peas is determined by how you will use them. If you want to add whole pods with beans to a stir-fry or snap them like green beans, pick green and immature pods. If you prefer to shell and cook the beans, wait until the pods have matured, start to turn yellow, and the beans inside look plump. For dried beans, pick the pods when they are dry and have turned brown.
- Refrigerate fresh black-eyed pea pods for up to two weeks.
- Shell the beans by pulling open the pods and using your thumb to pop them into a container.
- You can add black-eyed peas to salads, soups, stews, and fritters.
- For Hoppin' John, a Southern black-eyed pea and rice dish often served on New Year's Day. In addition to the beans and rice, other ingredients may include onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, salt, black pepper, cayenne or pepper sauce, water or chicken broth, and bacon or ham hock.
- Texas Caviar is the name of a black-eyed pea dish created in Texas around 1940. The black-eyed peas are marinated in a vinaigrette dressing and served with tortilla chips.
Nutrition
- Black-eyed peas are high in protein, fiber, folate (B9), vitamin A, manganese, phosphorus, and iron.
- The fiber in black-eyed peas aids digestion, and their protein content makes them a good meat substitute, like other beans.
History of Black-eyed Pea Fritters!
- In many parts of the world, cooks convert lentils and beans into fritters. Black-eyed pea fritters are a street food that originated in West Africa, where they are called “akara.” Enslaved Africans brought their fritter recipes with them to Brazil, where they are called "acarajé."
- To make the fritters, cook, mash, and season black-eyed peas, briskly whisk the bean paste until light and fluffy, and then form the mixture into balls or biscuit-size shapes and deep-fry them.
- They are usually a snack, served with a smear of hot pepper sauce. For a more substantial meal, the fritters are stuffed into a baguette with tomato, lettuce, and onion. They are often prepared at home for breakfast, snacks, appetizers, or side dishes.
Let's Learn About West Africa!
- There are five regions on the African continent: Northern, Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern.
- West Africa (or Western Africa) is in the westernmost part of the continent in sub-Saharan Africa (below the Sahara desert). It consists of the following sixteen countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, plus Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, an overseas British Territory.
- West Africa has the fastest growing population and economy on the continent. Its total area is 1,974,103 square miles, and the number of people in the region is estimated to be over 381 million.
- Football (soccer) is the most popular sport; however, West Africans may also participate in basketball and athletics (track and field).
- Arab traders influenced West African cuisine by bringing in spices like cinnamon, cloves, and mint. Later, European traders and slave ships brought chili peppers, corn, and tomatoes.
- Likewise, West African countries influenced New World cuisine when traders, colonists, missionaries, and enslaved Africans brought their food traditions to the Americas and Europe.
- Examples of West African dishes include "maafe" (peanut stew from Mali), a staple food in the region, "jollof" (a Senegalese rice dish), "akara" (a black-eyed pea fritter), and "eba" (a Nigerian staple made from cassava flour or "garri" eaten with soups and stews).
Lettuce Joke Around
What do you call a pea that runs into a Grump-pea?
A Black-Eyed Pea!
THYME for a Laugh
What do you call an angry pea?
A Grump-pea!
