Vegetarian black-eyed peas with vegetables

Name: Vegetarian black-eyed peas with vegetables
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Senegal
Ingredients: 300 g black-eyed peas, soaked for 4 hours; 2 carrots, in chunks; ¼ white cabbage, in wedges; 1 sweet potato, cubed; 1 onion, sliced; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 2 tbsp tomato purée; 3 tbsp oil; 1 whole fresh chilli; 1 bay leaf; 1 L water; Salt and pepper

Local name: Ñebbe

Black-eyed peas simmered with carrot, cabbage and sweet potato, the everyday pot in Senegalese homes.

Published on 7 September 2026

VeganGluten-free#black-eyed peas#beans#vegetables#stew#senegal

AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 70 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy

Method

Soften the onion in the oil for 5 minutes, add the garlic then the tomato purée, and fry for 3 minutes.
Add the drained peas, bay leaf, whole chilli and water. Bring to the boil.
Simmer covered for 30 minutes, until the peas begin to give.
Add the carrots and sweet potato and cook for 12 minutes.
Add the cabbage and cook for 8 minutes more, until tender but still holding together.
Lift out the chilli and season. Serve with white rice, or bread if you are not avoiding gluten.

Salt whenever suits you: it does not stop the beans cooking and even softens their skins. Seasoning at the end simply lets you judge it better.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 456 kcal
Protein: 20.8 g
Fat: 11.6 g
Carbohydrate: 71.3 g
Fibre: 13.5 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Why keep the chilli whole and remove it at the end?

Whole and unpierced, it perfumes the broth without releasing its heat. That is what lets the whole table eat the same pot. Anyone who wants heat can crush it into their own bowl.

Is four hours enough soaking for black-eyed peas?

Yes, black-eyed peas have thin skins and rehydrate much faster than kidney or white beans. They then cook in about thirty minutes, which is why the vegetables go in later.

My beans are still hard while the vegetables are done. What now?

Not the salt: in the cooking water it tends to soften the skins. The culprit is the acidity of the tomato purée, or beans that are too old. Lift out the vegetables, keep simmering the beans, then bring it all back together; next time, part-cook the beans in plain water before adding them to the tomato purée.

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