Smoky black-eyed peas, savory mushrooms, and walnuts wrapped in cabbage, topped with a vibrant sauce of cranberries and wine. Black-eyed Pea Cabbage Rolls with Cranberry Sauce will definitely impress!
Black-eyed peas are considered lucky when eaten as part of the New Years Celebration. Add in a side dish of collard greens, which represent Prosperity, and you will be well-prepared for the upcoming year!
This dish was an early version of my dish Lucky Black-Eyed Peas in Portobello Bowls with Gorgonzola and Cranberry Sauce. An assignment in chef school was to develop a recipe that could be made in less than an hour for a festive occasion. This went way past the hour, but was so tasty and attractive, I had to keep and share the recipe!
Ingredients
- Black-eyed Peas
- Mushrooms
- Walnuts
- Cabbage
- Cranberries
- Wine
See recipe card for quantities.
The black-eyed peas are considered lucky for New Years! The mushrooms were to add some umami and heft to the dish, while the walnuts provide a texture contrast. The cabbage gives a colorful and festive home for the filling. The cranberry sauce provides a sweetness and sourness while also providing a vibrant color contrast with the cabbage. The wine gives the sauce more complexity of flavor.
Substitutions
The cabbage could be replaced with another wide leaf green, like chard. Just make sure the leaves are big enough to be rolled with filling.
The Baby Bellas can be replaced with any mushroom. Try shitakes for even more umami.
Red wine is used in this dish, but try something more spicy, like a Marsala, to give it more of a kick.
Variations
Be sure to serve this dish with a bright green vegetable to provide some gorgeous color contrast! Smoked Collard Greens would be excellent, as is the broccoli seen here.
Add a hot pepper to the filling to give the dish more kick!
See Lucky Black-Eyed Peas in Portobello Bowls with Gorgonzola and Cranberry Sauce for a variation of this recipe!
Related
Looking for other Lucky black-eyed pea recipes? Try these:
Recipe
Black-eyed Pea Cabbage Rolls with Cranberry Sauce
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet
- 1 medium sauce pan
- 1 medium sauce pan
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce
- 2 cups cranberries whole
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 cup wine red
- 4 cups tomatoes diced, I used canned
- 1 cup date syrup
Filling
- 2 cups leeks chopped
- 1 pound mushrooms baby bella, chopped
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- 3 cups black-eyed peas drained and rinsed if canned
Instructions
- Place all sauce ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while preparing the other ingredients.
- Put water in a pot large enough to hold the cabbage leaves without tearing them. Start heating the water to a boil.
- Heat a frying pan on medium heat. When hot, add a small amount of olive oil. When oil is shimmering. add leeks. Cook until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add mushrooms and walnuts to pan with leeks. Cook until the mushrooms are soft, about 8 minutes.
- Add beans to frying pan. Mix well, turn heat to medium low. After the beans are hot, about 3 minutes, remove the mixture from the heat and set aside.
- While the beans are heating, the water should be boiling for the cabbage leaves. Place the leaves in the boiling water and gently press them to submerge them. Cook them until soft, about 5 minutes. Immediately remove and submerge in cold water to stop them cooking and make them handleable.
- Turn heat off on the cranberry sauce. Use a potato masher, if desired, to pop more of the cranberries, depending on how many have popped. Some whole ones are fine.
- Place 2 cups of the cranberry sauce in a cast iron skillet and spread evenly over the bottom of the pan.
- Place several spoonfuls of the bean mixture in each cabbage leaf and roll. Place each roll in the pan.
- When the pan is full, pour sauce over the cabbage, leaving some aside for serving the cabbage rolls.
- Place the pan on medium low for half an hour.
- Put one or two rolls on a plate and top with reserved sauce.
- Enjoy!
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