​RECIPE - Black-eyed beans with chard and green herb smash.

This is a super-quick stew by Anna Jones. Feel free to substitute for any other beans like black beans or cannellini.  The great news about black-eyed beans, is that hey are full of potassium, which can help keep your blood pressure levels at healthy numbers, which reduces your risk of heart disease. They are also low in fat and calories. Half a cup of cooked black-eyed beans contained 7 grams of protein and 1.2mg of iron.

Ingredients:
For the Beans:

• 1 leek
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• A good pinch of chili powder or chopped dried chili
• 1 400-g can black-eyed peas
• 1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder or 1/2 stock cube
• A good grating of nutmeg
• 1/2 unwaxed lemon
• 7 ounces/200 g Kale or Swiss Chard
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

For the herb smash:

• A large bunch of coriander
• 2 green chilis
• 2 cloves garlic
• 30 g shelled walnuts
• 1 tablespoon runny honey or maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon good olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Preparation:

1. Fill and boil a kettle of water and get all your ingredients together. Put a large saucepan over heat.
2. Wash and finely slice the leek. Add to the saucepan with the coconut or olive oil and cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, until soft and sweet.
3. Finely slice the garlic and add to the pan with the chili powder and cook for a couple of minutes, until the garlic is beginning to brown.
4. Add the black-eyed peas with their liquid, the stock powder, and 2/3 cup of hot water from the kettle and bring to a simmer.
5. Grate in the nutmeg, squeeze in the juice of the half lemon, add the squeezed lemon half to the pan, and simmer for 10 minutes or so.
6. Meanwhile, strip the leaves from the kale or chard stalks. Finely shred the leaves and put to one side.
7. Put all the ingredients for the herb smash into a food processor and purée until you have a smooth, grassy paste. Season well with salt and pepper.
8. Once the peas are soft and flavourful and the liquid has reduced to a thick, soup-like consistency, stir in the kale or swiss chard leaves, season well with salt and pepper, and leave to cook for a couple of minutes. Scoop into deep bowls and spoon over the herb smash.

Enjoy!