Baked Black Eyed Peas Croquettes

So, today is the last day of my juice cleanse. Ay vey! I can’t believe it’s been five days! I’ll tell you all about it on Sunday. In the meantime, let me tell you about these croquettes.

These croquettes came about one day when I wanted some protein, but didn’t want my “go-to” rice and beans. I thought about a croquette, but didn’t want something fried. And then I remembered my baked lima beans croquettes with a mint-miso reduction. I adapted that recipe to feature the black eyed peas I had in my cabinet and voila!, a new Como Water favorite was born!

Never one to shy away from condiments, I made two dipping sauces. The red sauce is a cranberry sriracha blend (mixed cranberry sauce, a wee bit of orange juice, and sriracha to taste) and the second is a “creamy” avocado sauce (mixed fresh avocado, a wee bit of lemon juice, vegan sour cream, salt and pepper to taste). I featured these croquettes as an accompaniment to some veg-centric soul food dishes we prepared in a cooking class. They. Were. A. Hit! Read the recipe below, and you’ll see why!

Happy Friday folks!

Baked Black Eyed Peas Croquettes

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups dry black eyed peas–soaked overnight and prepared to taste
2. 1/4 cup flour
3. 1/4 cup cornmeal
4. 2 tablespoon cornstarch
5. 1/2 teaspoon each: dried basil, dried parsley
6. 1 -1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
7. salt
8. pepper

Method:

* Prepare black eyed peas ahead of time. Cook until tender. Set aside. Mix flour, cornmeal, and cornstarch with a dash of salt and pepper. Set aside. Lightly grease baking pan. Set aside.

*Smash black eyed peas. Mix smashed beans with dried herbs and 1 cup panko bread crumbs. Adjust seasoning to taste. Mixture should be sticky but formable. If too sticky, add more bread crumbs.

*Form mixture into patties/croquettes. Dredge lightly in flour/cornmeal mixture. Add to prepared baking dish. Bake ~15-20 minutes. Flip. Bake ~10 -15 additional minutes. Serve with dipping sauce of choice! (I made an avocado “sour cream” sauce, as well as a spicy cranberry relish!).  Enjoy!