This recipe caught my eye because it reminded me of the Palaver recipe that my sister posted long ago.  That is a very good stew, but this salad is easier to carry to work for lunch.  The classic African combination of peanuts, collards and black-eyed peas is so tasty and fortifying.  This recipe makes enough for two hearty lunches or serves four as part of a larger meal.  We served it to friends with baked yams and pork chops in boozy jam sauce.  According to Cajun tradition, black eyed peas are good luck for the new year, so maybe you want to eat this on New Year’s!

The original recipe, from Saveur called for raw collard greens which neither my husband or I were too excited about.    We wilted the collards briefly with a tiny bit of water over high heat.  The original recipe also made about 4 times as much salad dressing as the salad needed.  We have happily made multiple batches of the salad to use it all up, but I have cut down the quantities here.  I also could not find the special kind of chile pepper they requested (to be fair I did not look very hard), so I just used a jalapeno and it was fine.

WILTED COLLARD GREEN SALAD WITH PEANUTS AND BLACK EYED PEAS

adapted from rom Saveur

• 1 cup raw peanuts
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (any mild oil is fine)
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• Kosher salt, to taste
• 4 eggs
• 8 oz collard greens (1 or 2 bunches)
• 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 small clove garlic, smashed and minced into a paste
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1 medium carrot, peeled
• 1 (15-oz) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 Fresno or Holland chile, stemmed, seeded, and julienned (I used a jalapeno)
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Toss together peanuts, 2 Tablespoons oil, paprika, and salt on a baking sheet and bake, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer peanuts to a rack and let cool. Coarsely crush peanuts.
2. Meanwhile, place the eggs in a pan with enough cool water to cover them.  Place the pan over high heat until it boils.  When it boils remove it from the heat and allow the eggs to stand in the hot water for 12 minutes.  after 12 minutes transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water and set aside.  When they are cool, peel them and slice them into halves or quarters.
3. Meanwhile, wash and stem the collards.  Cut them into 1 inch ribbons and throw them still wet into a hot pan with a lid.  Cover and cook for a few minutes, until they are wilted but still bright green.
4. Take just 2 Tablespoons of the peanuts and combine them with the remaining oil, vinegar, garlic, and minced shallot.   Whisk to combine, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
5. Using a vegetable peeler, shave carrot lengthwise into thin ribbons.
6. In a large bowl combine the carrot ribbons, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and chiles. Toss with the vinaigrette and taste before seasoning with salt and pepper.  Garnish with reserved peanuts, eggs and cilantro.