Black Eyed Pea Stew & Dumplings

Another New Years Day is upon us so that means we are all obligated to eat a meal with black eyed peas and some greens. Ok, I don't exactly feel obligated. I love black eyed peas as much as I love dark, leafy greens so tonight's dinner wasn't hard for me to prepare. It was even easier to eat.

Two Years Ago Today  Fig, Almond and Olive Oil Cake and Black Eyed Pea Crepes with Sweet Potato & Spicy Apricot Sauce

 Black eyed pea stew loaded with carrots, green beans, corn, garlic, pearl onions and tender, dense dumplings cooked right in the broth.

Black Eyed Pea Stew with Dumplings
serves 3
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
6 oz thawed pearl onions
2 carrots, small dice
2 celery stalks, small dice
1 tbl salt
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 handfuls fresh kale, chopped finely (from about 1 small bunch)
2 cups medium diced fresh green beans
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1-15oz can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
3 tbl all-purpose flour
4 cups vegetable broth
1 tbl fresh minced parsley

Saute the onions, carrots and celery with salt, thyme, oregano, pepper, red pepper flakes and cayenne until the vegetables start to slightly caramelize and become tender, 7 minutes. Add the kale, green beans, garlic, corn and black eyed peas and cook until the kale has wilted, 5 minutes.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir to combine thoroughly, cooking for about 1 minute. Add the broth and stir to inhibit the flour from clumping. Bring to a boil, reduce to a hard simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
While the stew is cooking, make the dumplings.
Taste and season before adding the dumplings.
Drop the dumplings in the stew, making sure they have space to grow. Cover and cook for 7 minutes.
Flip the dumplings over and cover, cooking 7 minutes more.
Garnish with parsley and serve.

Dumplings
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup almond milk

Combine the flour, powder and salt in a bowl. Drizzle in the oil and use a fork to combine so the oil is mixed in, in small coarse balls.
Add the almond milk and stir to combine. The dough should be more wet, than dry.
Use a small ice cream scoop or a spoon to drop small dumplings about the size of a large grape into the boiling stew. They will expand and double in size while cooking so make sure they are spaced apart.