Apr 10, 2008

Randy Evans’s Southern Peas

For this recipe, given to us by Randy Evans, the executive chef at Brennan's of Houston, Southern peas are simmered with a ham hock, carrot, celery, and chopped onions to add a sweet and smoky back note.

Photo: André Baranowski

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 rib of celery
1 carrot, peeled
2 cups fresh or frozen Southern peas
(such as zipper creams, black-eyeds,
or butter beans)
2 1⁄2 cups Chicken Stock
1 small smoked ham hock
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1. In a 4-quart saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

2. Cut celery in half and do the same with the carrot; add both to the pan along with the peas, stock, and ham hock. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender and creamy, about 1 hour. (The time depends on the type and size of the peas.)

3. Remove ham hock, slice meat from bone, and chop; return meat to pan. Season peas with salt and pepper to taste.

SERVES 4

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #111

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Ratings & Reviews (6)

by Aggie92 on 2008-06-30

oh my goodness. i have made this recipe so many times. i use whatever frozen pea i have on hand, including speckled butter beans, black-eyed peas, field peas with snaps or butter peas. every time it turns out delicious. my husband says it is just like what he ate at his grandma's in alabama. the only thing i do different is to chop the celery and carrot into pieces that are the same size as the peas. i ate this tonight over rice for dinner.

by rmalina on 2008-10-03

i make this recipe all the time, great stuff. in fact, i'm going to smoke a pork shoulder and make these peas to go along with it tomorrow.

btw, does anyone notice that this website is screwed up when it comes to saving recipes? i have a bunch saved in my favorites, but i can't retrieve any of them.

by bbires on 2009-05-30

I would always see these various peas at the produce market, fresh picked, and not know what to do with them. I love this recipe and am breaking it out again today to kick off the summer with some zipper peas.

by piqueno on 2009-08-22

rmalina-
I was having the a similar problem and trace it to my browser, which I had recently updated (Firefox). Remedy- Use a different browser. Piqueno

by krickell on 2009-09-12

A friend gave me some fresh zipper peas from her garden, and I wasn't sure what to do with them. This is the answer for fresh peas. I don't eat ham, so I just omitted that, added a little more salt and my husband and I both loved it. Look up Randy Evan's corn bread recipe to go along with it if you want a southern twist.

by BILLCAROLYN3327@ATT.NET on 2012-01-23

My, oh my! Am I really reading "butter beans"? I've had a running discussion with another online site that says butter beans are the same as lima beans. I grew up Southern and my mama's butter beans were not the same as limas! Now, where can I find those zipper peas?

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