African Black-Eyed Pea Fritters with Hot Pepper Sauce

Spice up your palette this spring with the delicious flavors of African home-cooking. This new recipe is sure to have your mouth watering - try it this weekend!

WHAT YOU NEED: 

1 cup dried black-eyed peas, sorted, soaked overnight, drained, and rinsed 

1/2 medium onion, diced 

1/2 cup raw peanuts 

1 teaspoon minced thyme 

1/4 teaspoon cayenne 

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar 

1/4 cup plus 

2 tablespoons water 

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt 

1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper 

1 tablespoon cornmeal 

5 cups coconut oil

WHAT TO DO: 

- Remove the skins from the beans by adding them to a large bowl, filling the bowl with water, agitating the beans, and fishing out the skins that float to the top with a fine mesh strainer. Rinse beans well.

- In a food processor, combine the beans, onion, peanuts, thyme, cayenne, vinegar, water, and salt and pulse until totally smooth. Transfer into a medium bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

- Preheat the oven to 200° F. 

- Remove the batter from the refrigerator. Add the bell pepper and cornmeal, and beat with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. 

- In a medium saucepan over high heat, warm the coconut oil until hot but not smoking, about 5 minutes. 

- Lower the oil to medium high, and in batches of 5, spoon the batter into the oil, 1 tablespoon at a time. Fry, stirring around, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. If necessary, adjust the temperature to ensure that the fritters do not cook too quickly. 

- Transfer the fritters to a paper towel–lined plate and allow them to drain. Transfer the drained fritters to a baking sheet and place in the oven to keep warm. 

- Serve hot with Hot Pepper Sauce . Want to find more recipes? Visit our Recipe Page! Find many more articles, wholesale products and more at the Africa Imports web site.