BAKED BBQ BLACK-EYED PEAS & PAN-FRIED GRIT CAKES WITH CARAMELIZED SPRING ONIONS, GARLIC & THYME

After watching a lot of Top Chef: Masters/Normal/Desserts/Every Other One Ever Made; Mike and I realised we don't eat enough Southern  cooking. In fact we wouldn't even know where to start with Southern Cooking. Not something that is all that common where we grow up. It was around this time I decided to buy Vegan Soul Kitchen by Bryant Terry to see what it was all about. I bought this book at the end of the year in 2011 and by the time it arrived Mike and I were back into travelling and gearing up for Christmas, so the book sat on the book shelf until last week. When I first got the book, I flicked through it and knew that one of the first recipes I wanted to make was the Pan-Fried Grit Cakes with Caramelized Spring Onions, Garlic & Thyme. I had always liked the look of grit cakes but never made them. The next challenge was to find something to go with these cakes. I flicked through and landed on the Baked BBQ Black-Eyed Peas and knew they would be perfect. I served Green Beans in Bread Crumbs as a side but they weren't needed. The Grit Cakes and Baked Beans were filling enough.


Pan-Fried Grit Cakes with Caramelized Spring Onions, Garlic & Thyme

These cakes were yummy. They were creamy in the centre and crisp on the outside. The addition of the Caramelized Onions gave them such a nice flavour. They take some time to make, since you have to let the mixture sit overnight, but the steps are pretty easy and they are worth it. The recipe can be found here.

What I did: 

• I used Dried Thyme instead of fresh. I'm sure fresh is probably better but I don't have any fresh herbs at this time of year so dried worked fine.
• I used minute Polenta to make my cakes. I cooked it to the packet instructions rather than what was suggested in the book. It worked out fine. I also used Polenta which is pretty much the same as Grits. I think the major difference is that they can be made out of different types of corn and sometimes Grits is made from Hominy. Both are good to make cakes from though.
• I baked mine in the oven and brushed them with a little oil.

Baked BBQ Black-Eyed Peas
These beans were amazing!! So yummy and so chewy. They went a nice smoky, BBQ flavour - and there was so much flavour. The addition of some Tofu was a great idea. It became so nice, chewy and flavourful. This recipe takes a long time to cook though as you cook the beans from scratch (which I usually do any way) and then they bake for 2 hours. All up your looking at a total cooking time of 3 hours plus the beans should be soaked overnight. This meal needs some planning. This recipe can be found here online.


What I did:

• Instead of Tamari I used 1/2 Soy and 1/2 Dark Soy Sauce
• Instead of adding the 1 cup of bean water I added the extra bit of Tomato Pasta sauce I had left in the Jar, which is why mine is not as 'liquidy' as other version might be.
• I used Tomato Pasta Sauce and not Canned Tomatoes, again maybe reducing the liquid content.
• I used 2 onions and a whole Green Capsicum (I'm not a fan of when recipes use 1 cup of a veggie - I just used the whole thing so there is no waste).
• I used Tofu instead of Tempeh, as I don't really like Tempeh.
• I didn't cook the beans for a whole 2 hours (probably 10-20 minutes less) - just as long as we wanted.

Mike and I really, really enjoyed this meal. We felt it was really simple and full of flavour. Simple ingredients and simple cooking techniques. Just plain, good, down to earth cooking. I can't wait to try more from this book as we have been super impressed so far.

These recipes are from:
Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine
by Bryant Terry
Recipes can be found online