Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas

I'm not sure how authentically Persian this is, but it was pretty fast and tasty. It has a nice, interesting combination of flavors.

Persian Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas
2 TBS olive oil
3 leeks, chopped (white parts only) (make sure to rinse well)
24 oz baby spinach
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
8 scallions (white & light green parts, sliced)
4 cans of black-eyed peas (~64 oz altogether), drained and rinsed
6 TBS fresh lemon juice (I used the juice of one lemon plus some of the pre-squeezed kind)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt

In a large heavy pot: Heat oil over medium heat; add leeks and cook for 5-8 minutes (until wilted and tender), stirring often.Add spinach, parsley, scallions, and 1/4 cup water. Cover and cook until spinach has wilted (about 8 minutes.) Stir in black-eyed peas, lemon juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Cook until warmed through (~5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with couscous and perhaps yogurt.

Serves 12.

Black-eyed beans with mushrooms

From Madhur Jaffrey's terrific book Indian Cooking, with very very slight changes

8 oz dried black-eyed beans, washed and drained
2 pints water
8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped through the stems (1/8" thick)
6 TBS veg oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 med-to-large onion peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
14 oz tomatoes peeled and chopped (I didn't peel them because I'm a lazy bastard)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt try using less --1.5 was slightly too much
ground black pepper
3 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Place beans and water in pot. Bring to boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, let sit for 1 hour. (I did this last night so I could prepare everything else while the beans were actually cooking the next day)

Bring beans to a boil again, cover and turn down heat, simmer for 20-30 minutes or til tender.

[meanwhile] Put oil in frying pan over med-high heat (I used a heavy-bottomed pot that can serve as one.) When hot, put in the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. Let sizzle for 5-6 seconds, then add onions and garlic. Stir & fry until the onions turn brown at the edges. Add mushrooms, stir/fry til they wilt. Add tomatoes, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir/cook for a minute, then cover and turn heat to low. Allow mixture to cook in its own juices for 10 minutes. Turn off frying pan.

Add mushroom mixture to bean mixture (or as I did, add the beans to the mushroom mixture - that's where the heavy-bottomed pot used in place of a frying pan comes in handy - so that you can sort of deglaze the pan and get any of the nice oils from the cooked onions/mushrooms/spices.) Add salt, black pepper, and parsley. Stir, bring to a simmer, and cook uncovered on med-low heat for 30 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick before serving.

I felt like it could use something sharp/sour (like lemon juice) as a counterpoint, but haven't tried it.

Update: I made this for the second time, many years later, with the following modifications: maybe 1/4 tsp of cinnamon instead of the stick, and a bunch of cumin powder instead of the cumin seed. (I just added these after sauteeing the onion & garlic for a bit.) I also used fresh tomatoes this time, very overripe, probably closer to 1.5 lbs. It was really delicious this time.