Salatu Niebe (Senegalese Black-Eyed Pea Salad)
Abuja, Nigeria · View all recipes
Overview
Salatu niebe is cooked black-eyed peas tossed with finely diced cucumber, tomato, bell pepper, spring onion and chilli, dressed with lime juice and olive oil. It is Senegalese and is usually served after the main meal rather than before it. Niebe is the Wolof word for black-eyed peas, and the bean is not an import. Cowpeas were domesticated in West Africa thousands of years ago and travelled to the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade, which is why black-eyed peas are as fundamental to Southern American cooking as they are to Senegalese. The direction of that journey is frequently reversed in the telling. The technique is in the cutting. Everything except the peas is diced very finely, so each spoonful carries a bit of everything rather than separate components. That is what makes it read as a composed salad rather than beans with vegetables in. It travels and keeps well, which is why it is a standard dish for feeding a crowd, made ahead, it improves as the peas absorb the lime and oil. The source credits Chef Pierre Thiam with popularising it outside Senegal, and that attribution is well founded. Its ingredient list omits the olive oil and parsley that its own description requires.
AFN Heritage Note
Salatu niebe is a Senegalese salad of black-eyed peas with finely diced vegetables, lime juice and olive oil, usually served after the main meal. Niebe is the Wolof word for black-eyed peas, which were domesticated in West Africa and carried to the Americas through the transatlantic slave trade.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Drain the soaked black-eyed peas. Cook them in a saucepan of boiling, salted water for 30 minutes or until tender.
- 2
Drain the peas and set them aside to cool completely. Warm peas will wilt the vegetables.
- 3
While the peas cook, wash, peel and finely dice the cucumber.
- 4
Wash, seed and finely dice the red bell pepper.
- 5
Wash and finely chop the tomato, green onion and chilli. Everything except the peas should be cut small, so each spoonful carries a bit of everything.
- 6
Juice the limes into a small bowl.
- 7
Put the cooled peas into a large bowl and mix in the vegetables, lime juice, olive oil and parsley.
- 8
Season well with salt and pepper and serve.
Africook’s Notes
- Cool the peas completely before dressing. Warm peas wilt the cucumber and tomato and turn the salad soft.
- Dice everything finely. This is what makes it a composed salad rather than beans with vegetables scattered through.
- Make it ahead. It keeps and travels well and improves as the peas take up the lime and oil.
- Do not overcook the peas. They should hold their shape rather than collapsing into a mash.
- Season generously. Beans absorb a great deal of salt and an under-seasoned pulse salad tastes flat.
- Tinned black-eyed peas work if you are short of time, drain and rinse them thoroughly first.
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