Black-Eyed Pea Salad

So, I've been hearing and reading a lot of promotion for the new Black Eyed Peas album. However, contrary to the intent of the print ads (i.e. getting me to buy the album), it's put actual black-eyed peas in the forefront of my daily thoughts.

After weeks of thinking about them, I finally had to email my mom for her recipe and when I saw how easy it was, I kicked myself for not making it sooner. Our ingredients couldn't be simpler:

2 cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 small onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup vinegar

(I actually halved this recipe since it was only for me and I'm trying to avoid leftovers since we have to completely clean out a fridge in a week.) First, quarter your onion and slice it very thin so that the end result looks like this.



Put your sliced onions into your bowl...



...sprinkle them with a little bit of salt and rub them together (the salt rub softens them).



Okay, now throw in your chopped parsley...



...and your drained and rinsed black-eyed peas.



Now, add in the 1/2 cup of olive oil...



and the 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar.



Give it a good stir and "allow it to rest in the refrigerator" (as my late paternal grandmother would say) for at least one hour. To tell you the truth, I put this in the refrigerator...and then promptly forgot about it. The next morning, I opened to the fridge to contemplate breakfast and there it was! It was like finding $20 in the pocket of my jeans. Even though it was 8am and even though I was only halfway through my coffee, I happily grabbed it out of the fridge and ate the entire thing. Maybe only making half a batch wasn't such a great idea after all since I'll probably make it again today.

With the fresh parsley and the thinly sliced onions, this salad is so refreshing. Oh and in the event that you aren't a black-eyed pea fan, give it a try anyway. The Irishman eats this readily and he wouldn't generally touch a black-eyed pea with a ten foot pole.