Pigeon Peas and Pumpkin
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ - 2 cups 1 can cooked pigeon peas. Or, 1 cup dry beans soaked overnight. Then discard the water, then place in a pot. Add fresh water (about 1 inch above the beans), and cook until tender – makes 2 cups. (Do not discard the remaining liquid from the cooked pigeon peas. It will help to thicken the stew. But you can also just use water as well.)
- ½ cup onions finely chopped
- ½ cup sweet peppers chopped (Bell, pimento, mini peppers)
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped (1½ tbsp minced)
- 4-5 sprigs of thyme (1 tbsp dry thyme)
- 1 heaping tbsp oregano leaves chopped (½ tbsp dry oregano)
- 1 heaping tbsp parsley chopped (½ tbsp dry parsley)
- 2 scallions chopped
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 medium tomato
- 1 cup pumpkin diced about 1-inch thick. (Or winter squash, butternut squash, or acorn squash.)
- 1 tbsp Soy sauce or Tamari sauce or Liquid Aminos
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- Hot pepper finely chopped, or chili powder, to taste (optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet or pot over medium heat.
- Add oil. This recipe uses less oil to sauté the seasoning. Therefore, to prevent the seasoning from burning during the sautéing process, keep ½ cup of water on hand and add 1 tbsp of water, at a time, to areas where you see the seasoning may stick.
- Add onions and ¼ tsp of salt, and stir gently for two minutes, until onions are translucent.
- Add peppers and stir for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic and stir for 1 minute.
- Add tomato, tomato paste, ¼ cup of the pumpkin and soy sauce, stir into mixture then add the remainder of seasoning - oregano, parsley, scallions and thyme.
- Add ¼ cup of water, stir, cover pot and let simmer for 10 minutes. You may need to add a bit of water after 5 minutes to prevent sticking.
- Add cooked pigeon peas and ½ cup (or more) of liquid from the cooked peas, or water.
- Then stir, cover and let simmer for 15 - 20 minutes.
- When almost cooked, add the remainder of the pumpkin, and simmer until pumpkin is tender (about 5 minutes.
Notes
Pairing:
Serve with rice, cou-cou, polenta, or ground provision, and vegetable.
Serve with fried or baked plantains and/or baked or boiled green fig.