Caribbean Curried Black-Eyed Peas with Plantains and Jerk Asparagus

In another attempt at healthful and tasteful eating, last week, I made Caribbean Curried Black-Eyed Peas with Plantains and Jerk Asparagus.

I love the recipes out of this cookbook! They are quick, simple and contain few ingredients.  The curry had shallots, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, star anise, curry powder, cinnamon, fresh thyme, salt, light coconut milk, water, black-eyed peas, light agave nectar, lime, and plantains.

The only ingredient I had never heard of, was the star anise.  I found some of these little guys in the bulk spice section at Whole Foods Market.  They have that wonderful black licorice scent that anise has, and are quite adorable in my opinion...

I sautéed the asparagus in my cast iron skillet with ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

I know I've said it before, but this was the best meal I have ever eaten! At least I felt that way once I began eating it.  The curry was perfectly seasoned and was delicious served over jasmine rice.  The sweet steamed plantains combined with the spicy curry gave it a nice balance of sweet and salty and pairing it along side of the jerk asparagus created a taste-bud explosion! It was the perfect side to have next to the curry.  I loved these dishes so much that I ate them for 4 days in a row without getting sick of them. In fact, I was actually disappointed once they were polished off.