Traditional Lancashire Bonfire Black Peas
It’s getting near that time again for Traditional Lancashire Bonfire Black Peas, plenty of black peas on eBay right now.
For all the Rochdale Ex-pats please see the recipe below,
Traditional Black Peas
To serve 6-8 people (usually eaten as a small snack/nibble)
Use: 1 cup / 150g black peas (maple peas) – soaked in water for 24 hours.
After soaking and draining the black peas, cover them in plenty of salted water in a large pot, and bring to a raging boil.
Then turn down the heat to a rolling boil, cover the pan, and boil for about an hour or slightly longer.
You want the peas to be very well-cooked, with the skins coming off. Once the peas are cooked and soft, drain them.
Now – to make the black peas really tasty – do the following with them:
- Put 250ml / 1 cup of cold, fresh water in a pan, add the peas and bring the water to the boil. Turn the heat down to a high simmer.
- Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable stock / bouillon powder to the peas and also 2 teaspoons of cider vinegar, as well as some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Allow the peas to stay on a high simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. (The peas are ready when there is a small amount of grey-black liquid in the pan, just enough for the peas to be moist but not lots of liquid left)
- Serve the peas individually in small pots, and season with salt and vinegar to taste.

Regards Ian Rangeley, (Ex-pat)
Enjoy 🙂