I find that as I’ve gotten older I’ve come to love some traditions; they’re grounding, and sometimes comforting and nostalgic in a good way.
Eating black-eyed peas for prosperity on New Year’s Day is a tradition we borrowed just because we love black-eyed peas and would undoubtedly use any excuse to have them at our dinner table.

We had a jar of black-eyed beans sitting in the fridge from a few days before, so on New Year’s Day when we woke up in the afternoon, we set out to make this black-eyed and green peas pasta salad.
The salad was a recreation from summer when the sun lasted forever and corn was abundant – we used frozen corn this time.

Sweet little green peas bursting with flavour, and ‘lucky’ black-eyed peas are the stars in this simple yet delightful salad.
It’s one of those ridiculously easy salads where you can throw in your favourites or use up stuff from your fridge and or pantry.
Our pantry is full of several tricolour/vegetable pastas; I like to use them in colourful pasta salads like this, they’re fun and cheery – especially during these dark gloomy days.

Another thing I like about this salad is there are always leftovers; lunch for the next few days!
And when it’s all tossed in and ready, I top mine with a bit of nuts or fried onions for crunch. Yum!

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Black-Eyed and Green Peas Pasta Salad

INGREDIENTS

• 12.oz Conchiglie / shell pasta (about 6 cups when cooked)
• 2 cups cooked black eyed peas
• 2 cups cooked green peas
• 1 cup cooked sweet corn
• 1 bunch of green onions, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• 3 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, julienned
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
• Sprinkle of salt to taste
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme or oregano
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Nuts, toasted and finely chopped and/or fried onions for topping

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta in salted water per package directions, drain and shake off any excess water
2. Transfer pasta to a large bowl and add black-eyed peas, green peas, onions, jalapeno peppers, sundried tomatoes, garlic and parsley, toss to mix and add a sprinkling of salt
3. In a smaller bowl, combine olive oil, lemon juice, zest, vinegar, pepper flakes, dried thyme or oregano and a pinch of freshly ground pepper
4. Whisk to emulsify and pour over pasta, mix gently to coat (use as much or as little dressing as you like)
5. Serve and garnish/top with nuts or fried onions
6. Enjoy!

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