A Medieval Appetizer of Black-Eyed Peas

Al-Warraq’s tenth-century cookbook includes two simple bawarid (cold) dishes that call for dried black-eyed peas. They are very good as they are, but you can add chopped vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, grated garlic, and so on. The beans are boiled and drained first. They are then put in a bowl, and lemon juice, sour grape juice, or sumac juice is poured on them. Sumac juice is made by soaking whole berries of sumac in hot water for 30 minutes. The juice is used, a