Black Eye Peas Salad

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This black eye peas salad is not the usual Southern side dish. I took a Mediterranean spin on this dish and added sweet paprika and olives. The result was fresh and delicious with creamy beans and crunchy veggies. And it's so quick and easy to make.

You'll need:

• 1 cup dried black eye peas (or 1 15-ounce canned black eye peas, drain and rinsed)
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 2 stalks celery, finely diced
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 25 to 30 black olives, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice from 1 lemon
• salt to taste

A note on cooking dried black eye peas: I like cooking my beans with my trusty pressure cooker. It cooks beans perfectly without all the soaking and boiling for hours. I use a Fagor Duo 8QT. Pressure Cooker and place it on the high setting for 10 minutes for perfectly cooked black eye peas. But if you don't have a pressure cooker, you should soak black eye peas overnight and boil in a medium pot with a lot of water gently for 1 to 1.5 hours. I know... it's a pain in the butt. Makes me even more thankful for a pressure cooker.

Once you cook the black eye peas, toss together with the remaining ingredients. Let stand in room temperature for 30 minutes before serving or refrigerating.