Dixie Lee Peas and More!

Field Peas, Lady Peas, Dixie Lee Peas, Crowder Peas and More!

A summer without field peas is like a summer without sunshine!  This is one of those recipes that Southern cooks never seem to write down… or at least my Mom didn’t!  She just knew how to make the best pot of peas a girl ever tasted.  All you need for a summer supper is field peas, cornbread, and sliced tomatoes!  We would sit on our screened porch and shell peas that Mom had bought from a local farm.  Sitting with the family, chatting, drinking sweet iced tea and shelling bushels of those little peas…. This was just the anticipation of the supper that was to come!  Of course, with bushels, Mom always froze peas for the winter time.  I am smiling with those memories.

Field peas are known by many names, and according to my internet research, were planted in the corn and rice fields because they added nitrogen back into the soil.  These peas come in varying colors from pink to purple to brown to white and are drought and heat resistant.  They can grow in sun or shade, in sandy soil, and high humidity. In other words, they grow well in the Southern summers!  Dixie Lee, crowder, purple hull, lady, pink-eye, are just some of the varieties of the field pea, which were once considered the "poor man's" food.  Nowadays, you will find these tasty peas in many fine dining establishments.  To me, though, fresh summer field peas represent sunshine on the table!

INGREDIENTS:

·        3 cups shelled fresh field peas

·        2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth

·        1 to 2 cups water (or as needed)

·        4 ounces of bacon, cut into pieces

·        2 Tablespoons butter

·        2 cups of chopped onion

·        1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

·        1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or to taste)

·        1 teaspoon Herbes de Provence (optional)

·        Handful or two of fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional)

·       DIRECTIONS:
Rinse and pick over the peas and drain them in a colander.

·       Melt the butter in a large sauce pan; add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

·       Add the peas, green beans, broth, bacon, salt, pepper, and Herbes de Provence.

·       Simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes.

·       Add water if necessary, as you want some liquid in the pot.

·       Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer for another 20-30 minutes more until peas are tender, adding water if necessary.