Cypriot Black-Eyed Peas with Chard

From the garden

• 1½ cups dried black-eyed peas (southern peas), rinsed and picked over · no soak needed; freshly shelled garden peas cook in about half the time
• 1 bunch Swiss chard, stems chopped, leaves torn
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• ½ cup fresh dill, chopped

From the pantry

• ⅓ cup olive oil · divided; half goes in the pot, half over the bowls
• 2 lemons, one juiced, one cut into wedges
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ cup kalamata olives (optional) · the usual plate companion
• 1 cup bulgur (pourgouri), cooked (optional) · for a fuller plate
• salt · to taste
• black pepper

1. Cover the peas with 2 inches of cold water in a wide pot, drop in the bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Skim the grey foam that rises in the first few minutes, then simmer uncovered 25 minutes.
2. Add the onion, sliced garlic, chopped chard stems, and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Simmer 10 minutes more, until the peas are tender to the tooth but still holding their shape.
3. Salt the pot now rather than earlier, so the pea skins stay soft. Stir in the chard leaves a handful at a time and simmer 5 minutes, until they slump and turn glossy dark green.
4. Pull the pot off the heat, fish out the bay leaf, and stir in the juice of one lemon and half the dill. Rest 10 minutes: the peas drink up the seasoning as they cool a little.
5. Pour the remaining olive oil over the pot in a slow stream and grind on plenty of pepper. Serve warm in shallow bowls with the rest of the dill, lemon wedges, olives, and bulgur alongside.