Purple hull peas can be found this time of year at farmers markets. (Photo: Alliance of Native Seedkeepers)
By Mary Jane Miller
Last summer, Tanner Olson of Sol Farm near St. Charles picked a peck of purple peas for me. If I lived in the South instead of the Midwest, I’d have plenty of company celebrating the season. Southerners celebrate these humble legumes with festivals, family recipes and plenty of anticipation for the harvest season.
Despite the name, purple hull peas are actually a kind of bean, closely related to black-eyed peas. Their deep-purple pods conceal tender, creamy beans with a delicate flavor, subtly sweet, nutty flavor that’s more refined than their black-eyed cousins. They look almost identical except their “eye” is a soft purplish pink. Much cuter.
Purple hull peas grow beautifully here in Iowa. Pick them young and the pods cook up like crisp green beans. Let them mature, and the pods shell easily to reveal plump, creamy beans perfect for summer suppers. As a bonus, the plants enrich the soil with nitrogen for whatever comes next in the garden.
The mature beans remind me of what my mom always called “shelly beans.” If our green beans got away from us and grew a little too large, she never let them go to waste. She’d shell the bigger beans and cook them alongside the tender green ones. The mix of textures and flavors was a small but memorable treat, one of those thrifty habits that made the most of every harvest.
If you spot purple hull peas at a farmers market, don’t pass them by. And if you don’t see them, ask. Many growers plant them as a cover crop and may have extra to sell.
Purple Hull Peas and Ham
Shelling purple hull peas is almost meditative if you settle into a comfortable chair with a bowl on your lap. Snap off the stem end, pull along the seam with your thumb or fingernail, and the peas practically tumble into the bowl. Once you’ve shelled about four cups, dinner is only a short simmer away.
Sauté half a chopped onion in a little olive oil in a large pot. Add a ham hock (sometimes labeled a shank), about 4 cups of water and a bay leaf. Simmering for about an hour, until the meat is tender enough to pull from the bone. Chop the meat and return it to the pot.
Add the shelled peas and one chopped red jalapeño for a gentle kick. Simmer for about 20 minutes, until the peas are tender and creamy and have soaked up the savory broth. The ham hock provides plenty of salt, so the dish probably won’t need any additional salt.
No time? No problem. Cook a couple of strips of chopped bacon with the onion, substitute chicken stock for the water, and simmer everything together for about 20 minutes. Serve the peas warm with a wedge of cornbread and you’ve got a simple, satisfying meal.
The peas also freeze beautifully. Simply blanch them for a few minutes, cool them quickly in ice water and freeze them for a hearty winter meal that brings back the taste of summer.
Contributor Mary Jane Miller of Indianola has worked as a food writer, chef, cooking teacher and food scientist for various clients, including Betty Crocker, the Food Network, Pillsbury and Target.
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