Eye of Newt Stew (Black-eyed Pea Curry)

Yay! The kids are back in school and it's time to get back into the kitchen and create more Halloween dishes. I made this Black-eyed Pea Curry back in July as a backdrop for my Rattlesnake Rolls and it was absolutely delicious. But when it comes to it being Halloween food all by itself, it was a little too normal looking...See?  An incredibly comforting and spicy fall dish, but certainly not creepy enough for Halloween.

So, I gave it another go by blending up all the onions, tomatillos, peppers and spices and then adding some black food coloring to really "yuck" it up. I'd say the black food coloring did its job. So much so, that it was extremely hard to photograph this Eye of Newt Stew and make it look at all edible. Once it sits in a large bubbling cauldron for a few moments, all the ingredients turn the most gruesome shades of black and grey! Even the ham turns a murky muddy black, which is absolutely perfect for a fun Halloween meal or your next Halloween party. The longer it sits, the better it looks and tastes. For sure, your friends and family will be reluctant to take a bite, but once they do, they'll come back for more!

Feel free to adjust the spice level. I like spicy and this recipe has some heat, so if you don't want it hot, substitute the Hatch chilies with mild Pasilla Chiles and roast them along with your tomatillos and onions. Happy Halloween!

Eye of Newt Stew (Black-eyed Pea Curry)

Serves 8

1 lb black-eyed peas
1 ham hock
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 lb tomatillos
2 medium yellow onions, quartered
1 1/2 cups Trader Joe's Hatch Chiles®, roasted and chopped (or 2 large Pasilla chiles)
black food coloring
2 cups chicken broth
2 tsp garam masala
2 t cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp chili powder
2-3 T honey 
1/4 cup cream
1 cup ham, chopped
salt and pepper (to taste) 

Prep beans
Soak beans overnight in salted water. Drain soaking water from beans and add beans to a slow cooker. Add enough fresh water to cover beans with about two inches of water above the beans. Add ham hocks and garlic to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for about 5-6 hours. Begin checking for doneness (Is that a word?) at 4.5 hours. Once done, remove ham hocks and chop meat from the bone. Reserve 1-2 cups if the slow cooker liquid and drain beans.

Prep Vegetables
Peel, wash and cut tomatillos in half and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Quarter onions and add to cookie sheet. If you are substituting the Hatch chiles for Pasilla chiles, cut chiles in half, remove seeds and stems and add to cookie sheet. Broil on high until veggies are browned. Remove from oven and let cool.

Add cooked onions, tomatillos, chiles into a food processor or blender and add, cilantro, garam masala, cumin, coriander and chili powder and process until blended. Transfer into a dutch oven and add chicken broth, 1 cup of reserved crock pot liquid, and cream and honey. Heat to a slow simmer.

To make it a Eye of Newt Stew Halloween dish, add black food coloring at this point and then continue below. 

Add chopped ham from the ham hocks, black-eyed peas and additional chopped ham to the pot. Simmer 30 minutes or longer. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.  

NOTE: In the photo below, I added some black-eyed peas and chopped ham right before shooting it so they didn't change color. I wanted to show at least some recognizable ingredients in the photos. Happy Halloween!

Other Halloween dishes to try:

Top 10 Horror 'doeuvres