Smoky black-eyed pea fritters with braised greens

It's a Southern tradition to have collard greens and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. Collards are eaten because they symbolize money and fortune while peas are thought to bring good luck. Every year as long as I can remember, my mom would make cornbread, collard greens drizzled with vinegar, and black-eyed peas cooked with ham. Some believe the more you eat, the richer and luckier you will become. Do you have any New Year's traditions?

I decided to start our own tradition this year. I braised collard greens in vinegar and made smoky black-eyed pea fritters with tomatoes for dinner. The collards are cooked long and slow, but are silky from the olive oil and flavored with the vinegar. The fritters get their smokiness from smoked paprika and chili powder. Instead of using eggs and breadcrumbs in the fritters, I substituted millet, which makes them gluten free and vegan. When cooking millet, start with cold water if you want a creamier texture, which is perfect for these fritters or these croquettes. If you were to add the millet to hot water, it would keep the grains intact, which is ideal for a pilaf.

I topped the fritters with diced tomatoes marinated in a little olive oil, sea salt, pepper, and white balsamic vinegar. They add a little color and texture to the dish. These fritters would make an excellent vegan appetizer as they make great finger food.

Smoky black-eyed pea fritters
Adapted from Cafe Flora
2.5 c black-eyed peas, cooked
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 celery stalks, small dice (.25 in.)
1/4 onion, small dice (.25 in.)
1 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
3/4-1 c cooked millet

Preheat oven to 350.

Add all the ingredients to the food processor, except the millet. Pulse about 4 times, scrap down the sides, and pulse a few more times. You should have a rough coarse meal. Add mixture to a large bowl with the millet. Mix well with hands. Form 1 inch patties with hands. If the mixture is still too wet, add more millet. This recipe should yield 22-25 small 1 inch patties. I like to keep them smaller, so they get crispier.

Bake on an oiled or parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes, flip patties over, and baked for another 8-10 minutes on the other side. Remove from oven and top with tomato mixture.

Braised collard greens
1 bunch collard greens
~1/4 c olive oil
1/2 medium sweet onion
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
dash of red chili flakes
1/4-1/2 c cider vinegar

Rinse collard greens well, sometimes they're rather sandy. Remove stems and dice small. Cut leaves into thin ribbons or bite-size pieces. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a dutch oven or large saute pan. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Next add the garlic, salt, pepper, and red chili flakes. Saute for about 2 minutes, then add the collard stems. Cook for about 5 minutes, reduce heat to low, and add the leaves. You might need to add the leaves in two bunches, stirring to make room for the rest of the greens. Add the vinegar and stir well. Cover. Cook for about 45 minutes. Check the greens from time-to-time, stirring, to make sure they aren't dry. If so, add a bit more vinegar or water. Add a dash of salt and pepper to taste. They taste even better the next day.

The humble jacket potato

When I studied abroad in London, I became very familiar with the jacket potato. They were on many menus throughout the city and fit my student budget. The jacket potato is the British version of a dressed up baked potato, plus it has a nicer ring to it. They stuff the humble potato with a variety of fun toppings—not just the typical butter, cheese, and chives combo—and turn it into a meal.

So yesterday when I was looking around the kitchen to see what I had to make for lunch, I spied a purple potato begging to be stuffed. I had a big bushel of collards in the crisper to use for filling and a carrot-ginger dressing to add a punch of flavor and color. You could really fill your potato with just about anything.

This impromptu lunch might be my new favorite. And look at all that color! The purple of the potato to the green of the collards to the orange of the dressing. The rainbow of color means it's packed with a variety of good-for-you antioxidants, minerals and vitamins. I also sprinkled some sunflower seeds over the top for that much-needed crunch. Also this dish happens to be dairy- and gluten-free.

Bake a purple or regular ol' sweet potato at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, depending on the size. While the potato is cooking prep the collards and make the dressing below.

Garlicky collards
3 large collard leaves, destemmed, cut into bite size pieces (3-4 cups)
1 T olive oil
1 shallot, diced
3 garlic cloves minced
1/4 tsp chili flakes
1/4 c vegetable broth
dash of salt

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallot to the oil, cooking until translucent. Then add the garlic and chili flakes, cooking until fragrant. Add the collards and vegetable broth to the pan. Bring the pan to a simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The greens will turn bright green and the broth will have reduced.

Carrot-ginger dressing
4 medium carrots, grated
3 T ginger, minced
1 shallot, diced
1.5 tsp tamari
2 T rice vinegar
1/4 tsp curry powder
2 tsp miso
3 T sesame oil
2 T avocado (or olive) oil
3 T water or more to thin out

Add the carrots, ginger, shallot, tamari, rice vinegar, curry powder, and miso to a food processor. Blend on high for a few minutes. While the processor is running, add the oil and water.

When the potato is done, slice it open and stuff with collards, a drizzle of carrot-ginger dressing and a garnish of sunflower seeds. You should have enough filling to stuff 4 medium potatoes.