Homemade Benne Seed Olive Oil Crackers with Black-Eyed Pea Dip

Black-eyed peas deserve to be eaten way more often than just on New Year’s Day. And a soul food meal, restaurant, or menu without black-eyed peas is missing some of its soul.

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Ingredients

Black-Eyed Pea Dip:

¾ cup dried black-eyed peas
3 tablespoons neutral oil such as grapeseed
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
Kosher salt

Crackers:

1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
¼ cup water plus 1 tablespoon
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons benne sesame seeds
Flaky sea salt such as Maldon

Instructions

To make the dip:

Soak the peas in cold water overnight. Drain, add them to a pot, cover with water, place over medium-high heat, and let simmer until tender, about 40 minutes. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooking liquid and drain. Add all but ¼ cup of the cooked peas to a food processor. Add the oil, vinegar, garlic, ginger, thyme, onion powder, paprika, and 1 tablespoon of the reserved cooking water and puree until smooth. Add additional cooking water as necessary to thin to the desired consistency. Season with kosher salt. Transfer the dip to a bowl and gently stir in the remaining ¼ cup black-eyed peas.

To make the crackers:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour and sea salt. Stir in the ¼ cup water, olive oil, and 2 tablespoons of the benne seeds and mix just until a thick dough is formed. Lay out a silicone mat or a piece of parchment paper measuring 11½ by 16½ inches. Place the dough on the mat or parchment paper and flatten into a rectangle. Roll out the dough as thinly as possible until it covers the entire surface of the mat or parchment paper; it should be very thin. Using a pizza cutter, carefully cut the dough into thirty-two squares (eight by four). Lightly brush the dough with the remaining 1 tablespoon water and sprinkle with the remaining 1 tablespoon benne seeds and flaky sea salt.
Slide the parchment paper with the dough onto a baking sheet. Bake until the crackers turn lightly golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool and serve with the dip.

Notes

“Reprinted with permission from Tanya Holland’s California Soul: Recipes from a Culinary Journey West by Tanya Holland, published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.”

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