Ful Gnaoua
Moroccan Black Eyed Pea Stew
Serves 4

In Arabic, Ful Gnaoua refers to Guinea beans, which are virtually any long pod legume. Most of the recipes I found for Ful Gnaoua call for black eyed peas so I assume they are commonly used in this very old and popular Moroccan food. Recipes often include Khlea, cured meat.

Note the pieces of chorizo and chunks of salami.

As most home cooks do just about every day, I modified this recipe with ingredients I had on hand or thought would accommodate my particular tastes. If a recipe lasts through generations and works using leftovers and substituted ingredients, it fits my definition of Real Food.

Hints

1. Black eyed peas are more available dried than fresh, par cooked. I found some of the fresh and used them for this recipe, cutting out the overnight soaking time. Fresh black eyed peas have a limited shelf life.
2. Chorizo can be very spicy or barely spicy, so if you use it, cook and taste it first so you will know exactly what taste you are adding to the stew.
3. After the stew has cooked, take it off the heat and let it sit, covered for at least an hour so the flavors can blend more. It will be even better the next day.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups fresh or dried black eyed peas
4 tbs. Olive oil
1 large onion, sliced and cut again into 1” pieces
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
2 Chorizo sausages, sliced
½ green pepper, diced*
2 tomatoes, grated (I used 1, 14oz. can of Diced Tomatoes with puree)
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade*
½ cup chopped fresh parsley or cilantro + 1 sprig per person for garnish
1 ½ tsp. ground cumin
1 ½ tsp. sweet paprika
1 tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper (I used dehydrated red pepper flakes)
2 tbs. orange juice*
½ tsp. mace
1 tsp. tandoori seasoning*
¼ cup raisins*
Salt to taste

*I added these ingredients because I thought they would round out the flavors. They did.

Procedure

1. For dry black eyed peas: rinse peas in a strainer and pick out any rocks or unsuitable pieces. Put into a 6 qt. pot filled 2/3 with water and add rinsed peas. Bring water to a boil, turn heat down to medium, cover and cook for about an hour or until peas are softened slightly (they will cook more in the stew). Drain and set aside, saving cooking water for plants. For fresh peas: rinse and drain.
2. Heat oil in 4 qt. pot. Soften onions in oil, adding minced garlic when the onions are finished. Add chorizo, green pepper, tomatoes, chicken stock and ½ cup parsley or cilantro and remaining ingredients except for salt.
3. Add cooked peas, adjust heat to low, cover and cook for and hour. Check stew regularly, adding water if necessary. If the stew starts to stick to the bottom of the pan, add more moisture and decrease the heat slightly. After an hour taste the sauce and eat a couple of beans. The beans should be softer but not mushy. Correct the seasoning with salt and add more crushed pepper flakes if it isn’t spicy enough.
4. Take the stew off the heat and let it set up, covered for at least an hour.
   

   A hunk of crusty bread to scoop up extra juice.

To Serve: Heat over medium heat until it bubbles around the edges and when stirred is hot throughout. Ladle into heated bowls, garnish each serving with a sprig of parsley or cilantro, and serve immediately.