Smoky black-eyed peas and walnuts nestled in a bowl of portobello mushroom, topped with the tang of Gorgonzola cheese and a vibrant sauce of cranberries and spicy Marsala wine. Your dinner guests will be impressed with Lucky Black-Eyed Peas in Portobello Bowls with Gorgonzola and Cranberry Sauce!
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 the final version of my dish Black-eyed Pea Cabbage Rolls with 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 and this version finally did it!
Ingredients
- Black-eyed peas
- Portobello mushrooms
- Walnuts
- Cranberries
- Marsala Wine
- Balsamic vinegar
- Vegan Gorgonzola Cheese
See recipe card for quantities.
The black-eyed peas are considered lucky for New Years! The mushrooms add some heft to the dish and make a fun serving platter. They also provide some nice umami. The walnuts provide a texture contrast. The vegan Gorgonzola provides a tangy, creamy texture. The cranberry sauce provides a sweetness and sourness while also providing a vibrant color contrast with the cabbage. The Marsala wine gives the sauce more complexity of flavor, with some nice spice.
Substitutions
Other nuts can be used, like pistachio.
The original bowl was to be radicchio leaves, but the assignment called for using seasonal ingredients, so I switched to Portobello mushrooms, which are in season from December through March. I will make them with radicchio boats some day, the colors will be amazing!
A vegan feta would also be nice for the cheese.
Variations
The filling doesn’t have a lot of flavoring to focus on the cranberry sauce. Adding herbs like thyme, oregano, and/or Italian parsley would be good. Some heat from jalapeños, Fresno chilis, or red pepper flakes would give it some zing.
The cheese on top could be replaced with a cashew cream sauce for the interior filling. I would still stick with the cranberry sauce on top, but a cashew cream sauce with some heat and some nutritional yeast would be nice! Maybe I will do that with the radicchio and write up a new recipe!
A side green will contrast nicely with this dish. Collard greens, a red chard, or mustard greens would be good. Pictured here as a side is a massaged lacinato kale salad with fermented beets and a tahini/lemon/garlic sauce.
Equipment
A medium sized sauce pan for the sauce.
A cast iron skillet with a lid for the mushrooms, though any frying pan with a lid will do.
Either a medium sauce pan or frying pan for making the filling.
Storage
The filling mixture and the mushrooms will stay good for 2-3 days if put in an airtight container and placed in the fridge.
Top tip
Don’t overcook the mushrooms! You want them cooked, but you also want them to be able to hold the filling and sauce!
Related
Looking for other recipes with black-eyed peas? Try these:
Recipe
Lucky Black-Eyed Peas in Portobello Bowls with Gorgonzola and Cranberry Sauce
Equipment
- 1 cast iron skillet with lid for the mushrooms
- 1 medium sauce pan for the cranberry sauce
- 1 medium frying pan or medium sauce pan for cooking the filling
Ingredients
Cranberry Sauce
- 1 cups cranberries whole
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ½ cup wine Marsala
- 2 cups tomatoes diced, I used canned
- ½ cup date syrup
Filling
- 1 cup leeks chopped
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- 1 ¾ cups black-eyed peas drained and rinsed if canned
Other
- 6 mushrooms Portobello, large
- 5 tablespoons wine Marsala
- Gorgonzola cheese vegan
Instructions
- Place all sauce ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer while preparing the other ingredients.
- Heat a medium sauce 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 walnuts to pan with leeks. Cook until the walnuts are browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add beans to pan with leeks and walnuts. Mix well, turn heat to medium low. After the beans are hot, about 3 minutes, set the heat to low until the mushrooms are ready.
- While the beans are heating, remove the stem and degill the mushrooms with a spoon. Heat up the frying pan over medium heat. When it is hot, add marsala wine to pan. When bubbling, add the mushrooms top side down. Cover mushrooms. Periodically check the mushrooms to make sure they aren't burning. If the pan gets dry, add more Marsala wine.
- Cook the top side of the mushrooms for about 4 minutes. Flip and cook the underside until the mushrooms puncture easily, about 6 minutes.
- When mushrooms are done, remove cranberry sauce and the bean mixture from the heat. Place mushrooms, top side down. Spoon in some of the bean/leek/walnut mixture. Top with the vegan Gorgonzola. Spoon on the sauce.
- Enjoy!
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