Creamy Curried Crock-Pot Chowder With Black-Eyed Peas

Creamy Curried Crockpot Chowder, vegan and glutenfree - holycowvegan.net

Ooh, I love me some alliteration now and then, and the name of this recipe — Creamy Curried Crock-Pot Chowder — can it get any more perfect?

This velvety, delicious chowder is comfort food for your soul, and for your heart. It’s packed with veggies like carrots, onions, potatoes, and mushrooms, and with heart-healthy, fiber-rich black-eyed peas that add a hit of protein.

Like most of the recipes on this blog, this one requires very little prep. All you need to do is chop up a few veggies. All the action happens in the slow cooker itself — no need to saute this or that on the stovetop first — and you’ve got a delicious dinner done and ready to eat in less than three hours of mostly hands-free time.

One big reason I love cooking in the slow cooker is that it makes cooking without fats easy peasy while preserving the delicious flavors of your ingredients and, in fact, letting them blossom over the long, slow cooking times. I add some cashew cream to the chowder at the end, but if you want to leave it out and make this truly fat-free, do. In that case, though, puree half the chowder and add it back to the rest for a creamier texture. I love the cashew cream– it adds richness while keeping this soup truly healthy, and it adds more good protein.

As my crockpot has gotten on in years, the knob that controls the temperature settings has broken off and vanished into no-man’s land, which means the only setting I can cook with is “high”. If you want to pop out of the house while the food gets done, by all means go ahead and cook on a lower heat setting– you will need to add a couple more hours to your cooking time. You can also make this on the stove top, or in the pressure cooker (aren’t you the smart one?) but be sure to adjust cooking times when you do. If you need some guidance, feel free to ask in a comment.

Hope you try!

Creamy Curried Crock-Pot Chowder with Black-Eyed Peas

A delicious recipe for a creamy curried crock-pot chowder packed with herbs, veggies and black-eyed peas, and made with no added oils.

1 pound frozen black-eyed peas ((This is the kind that you get in the freezer section of your supermarket. If you can't find this, it is perfectly fine to make your own from dried peas, or use canned. Substitute with 2 14-oz cans of black-eyed peas, or 3/4 cups of dried black-eyed peas, soaked and cooked until tender))
1 medium onion, finely diced
2 medium carrots, finely diced
2 medium yellow or red potatoes, finely diced
1 pound mushrooms, button or crimini are fine, sliced
1 tsp dry thyme
2 small bay leaves
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tsp curry powder
3 cups vegetable stock ((water is a fine substitute))
1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for 30 minutes
Salt to taste
Ground black pepper to taste
Spring onions for garnish

Blend the soaked cashews with 1/2 cup water until very smooth and set aside.
In the slow cooker, on a high setting, combine the onions, garlic, carrots, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to mix. Add some salt and ground black pepper. Cover the crock-pot and let the onions cook for 10 minutes.
Add the potatoes, frozen black eyed peas and curry powder to the crock-pot. If you are using canned or cooked black-eyed peas, DO NOT add at this point. You will add them later in the process.*
Add 3 cups of very hot water or vegetable stock to the cooker. Stir to mix everything, then cover the crockpot and let it all cook for the next two hours or until the veggies and black-eyed peas are really tender.
Add the mushrooms and let the chowder cook for another 20 minutes.
Add the cashew cream and stir to mix.** Allow the chowder to warm through and add more salt and pepper as required. Garnish with scallions before serving.
*If you are using canned or cooked black-eyed peas, add them about an hour into the cooking time, when the veggies are nearly tender.
**If you don’t plan to use the cashew cream, remove a few ladles of the chowder before you add the mushrooms and blend into a puree. Add the puree back to the crockpot. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook for 20 more minutes.