Stew peas

Ingredients

Peas

• 400 gdried red kidney beans, soaked overnight

Meat

• 500 gsalted pig’s tail, or salt beef
• 300 gstewing beef, optional
• or smoked turkey neck

Coconut

• 400 mlthick coconut milk
• or 1 block creamed coconut

Seasoning

• 1onion, chopped
• 4spring onions, crushed
• 4 clovesgarlic
• 2 sprigsthyme
• 1whole scotch bonnet
• 1 tspallspice berries, pimento
• 1 tspblack pepper
• salt, only at the end

Spinners

• 150 gplain flour
• a pinch of salt
• about 80 ml water

To serve

• white rice

Directions

1. Soak the beans, discard the soaking water, then boil them hard for at least ten minutes before reducing to a simmer. A slow cooker on low is specifically dangerous with kidney beans, because it can hold them at a temperature that increases the toxicity rather than destroying it.
2. Soak the beans overnight in plenty of cold water. Drain and rinse them and discard that water. Now cover them with fresh water and boil hard for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep it at a rolling boil for that period rather than a simmer, which is the step that matters. Then reduce to a simmer and cook, partly covered, for about an hour until they begin to soften.
3. Cover the pig’s tail with cold water, bring to a boil, and boil 10 minutes, then discard the water. Do that twice if it is very salty, and taste a piece before you commit it to the pot. Taste, do not assume. Add the drained pig’s tail and the stewing beef to the beans. Add the onion, spring onion, garlic, thyme, allspice and black pepper.
4. Crush the spring onions with the flat of a knife before they go in, which releases far more. Put it in whole and unbroken, and take it out before serving. If it bursts, the stew becomes extremely hot, so lift it out carefully.
5. Simmer everything for a further hour until the beans and meat are tender. Now add the thick coconut milk. Add it in the last 30 minutes rather than at the start, because long boiling splits coconut milk into oil and curds.
6. Simmer gently after it goes in and never boil hard. Mix the flour and salt with just enough water to make a stiff dough. Keep it stiff. A soft dough dissolves into the stew instead of holding together. Take a small piece and roll it between your palms into a thin tapered cylinder about 5 cm long.
7. Drop them into the simmering stew and cook 15 minutes. Do not add them too early, because they absorb liquid and would go soggy. Crush some of the beans against the side of the pot with the back of a spoon. The crushed beans thicken the stew naturally, and that starchy body is what stew peas should have rather than a gravy thickened from outside.
8. Simmer uncovered for the last ten minutes to reduce it. Salt only at the end, since the salted meat has already contributed a great deal. It should be thick, rich and brown, with the coconut and the pimento both clearly present. Serve it over white rice, in bowls, and it is a Saturday and everyday dish across Jamaica.

Technique

• Red peas in Jamaica means red kidney beans.
• Salted pig’s tail is sold in Caribbean shops and is worth seeking out.
• Tinned kidney beans are already fully cooked and carry no lectin risk.

Substitutions

• Tinned kidney beans, added in the last 30 minutes.
• Smoked turkey neck in place of pig’s tail, which is leaner.

Variations

• Made with salt beef.
• Without meat, for a vegetarian version.
• With more coconut, which gives a richer stew.

History

Combines African red peas with salted pig’s tail, a preserved cut of plantation provisioning, thickened with coconut milk and spinner dumplings.

Frequently asked questions

What is Stew peas?

Stew peas is a soup & stew from Jamaica: red peas cooked in coconut milk with pig’s tail and flour dumplings. Combines African red peas with salted pig’s tail, a preserved cut of plantation provisioning, thickened with coconut milk and spinner dumplings.

How long does Stew peas take to make?

Stew peas takes 20 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 2 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Stew peas?

Yes, within limits. Tinned kidney beans, added in the last 30 minutes. Smoked turkey neck in place of pig’s tail, which is leaner.

What is the most important thing to get right in Stew peas?

Soak the beans, discard the soaking water, then boil them hard for at least ten minutes before reducing to a simmer. A slow cooker on low is specifically dangerous with kidney beans, because it can hold them at a temperature that increases the toxicity rather than destroying it.