Lebanese Black Eyed Beans Recipe Vegan

A traditional style of homecooked Lebanese food with black eyed beans and home grown greens.

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It's funny when I was young I didn't have the appreciation for the foods my mother would cook and yet here I am now craving, replicating and eating her recipes. Do you do this too? This Black Eyed Beans recipe is vegan and Lebanese. It's traditionally made with either swiss chard or spinach, however for this particular recipe, my mother had the loveliest bunch of red veined sorrel growing in her garden which I couldn't pass up on cooking it with black eyed beans.

As mentioned previously this black eyed beans recipe is traditionally made with swiss chard or spinach and normally is green in colour littered with white black eyed beans. However, as I have used red veined sorrel for this recipe, it has changed the colouring of this dish to be a deep purple. I found as this dish sat longer, the deeper the colour.

The taste is of this meal is fabulous. It's a type of stew/warm salad, the beans are buttery and melt in your mouth and the greens (purples in this case 😜) are coated in lemon. As a kid I would eat this wrapped in Lebanese pita bread, nowadays, I enjoy it on gluten free bread and with a side of freshly cut radishes.

What does red veined sorrel look like?

Earlier in the year, whilst at our local farmers market, Mum picked up red veined sorrel seedlings amongst other edible greens seedlings. Out of all the seedlings this grew fast and has been harvested twice already.

It's a vibrant plant, similar looking to dock but with bright red veins. This is how it looked after I washed it;

I highly recommend growing your own veggies, the taste is much more vibrant. Here's the ultimate guide to growing your own vegetables.

Here's a video of how to cook black eyed beans and with red veined sorrel

🥘 Ingredients

• 450g Red veined sorrel leaves (sub with silverbeet (swiss chard))
• 1 tbsp Olive oil add more if needed
• 1 med Brown onion
• ⅓ cup Coriander Cilantro
• 3 cloves Garlic crushed, add more if desired
• 1 cup Dried black eyed beans soaked overnight to soften
• 1 tbsp Salt and pepper or to taste
• 2 med Lemon

🔪Cooking Instructions

Black Eyed Beans

• Soak beans overnight in water. Ensure water is double the amount of beans as they will swell. Next morning, drain out any left over water.

Mis en place

• Set aside the following separately;
• Dice onion
• Crush garlic
• Chop coriander
• Chop red sorrel into large bite sized pieces
• Squeeze one lemon
• Cut one lemon into wedges

Cooking

• Heat olive oil in pot
• Sweat onion until slightly golden and translucent
• Add coriander to the onion and fry until wilted
• Add black eyed beans to the mixture and mixture thoroughly coating in onion and coriander. Allow to cook for 10-15 minutes with lid closed
• Add sorrel (or silverbeet (swiss chard) or spinach to the bean mixture and allow to cook (about 10-15 minutes) until leaves are completed wilted and cooked through. Stirring occasionally.
• Serve onto a serving plate and add lemon juice on top. Add lemon wedges on the side to use as needed.

💭Recipe Tips

• Fresh variety of black eyed beans can be used, these do not need to be soaked over night
• If using silverbeet or spinach, chop up the leaves into large bite sized pieces. If using baby spinach, these can be added without chopping
• Red sorrel stalks can be cooked also within this recipe, cut these into smaller pieces and rid of any tough stalks
• If desired, chilli can be added to taste, add this with the coriander
• Serve by pouring freshly squeezed lemon juice on top and extra lemon wedges to use as needed
• When red veined sorrel is cooked, the colour of this dish will darken to a very dark purple
• If there are any leftovers of this black eyed bean recipe, this can be stored in a container in the fridge for a few days

⏲️Cooking Time

Over medium high heat this dish should take around 30-40 minutes to cook. All red sorrel leaves should be wilted and black eyed beans should be buttery. (if you are using silverbeet (swiss chard) or spinach, these leaves should also be fully wilted.

Black Eyed Beans FAQ

• Are black eyed beans and black eyed peas the same thing? Yes they are the same, they are also known as field beans or peas and in Arabic they are under the word "loubieh" which is the word for bean.
• Do blacked eyed peas need soaking? Whilst it's not essential, soaking them will quicken the cooking considerably.
• How long should I boil black eyed beans? Usually overnight by covering them with at least double the amount of water as they will swell. If you would like to quicken the soaking process to a few hours, soak them in boiling water.

📋Other Recipes

Here are some of my other favourite vegan Lebanese recipes

• The most requested rice by my family - Lebanese Rice Vegan packed with veggies and topped with browned nuts
• Another 'greens' recipe, try this Hindbeh Bi Zeit (Dandelion Greens Recipe)
• And one more 'greens' recipe worth mentioning is my Lebanese Spinach Stew (Sabanekh wa Riz)
• For a quick sweet treat, here's my Haytaliyeh, Vegan Lebanese Milk Pudding