First came the cronut. Then the donoli. I just heard about wonuts here in Chicago. Earlier this week on my Facebook page I wondered what the next donut hybrid might be. Dalad, perhaps – donut salad?

So how does one make a donut salad? Make a mixed greens donut, top it with some tomato and olive mini donuts, some French dressing donuts on top of that… But seriously, how are you supposed to eat that? If I’m going to create a nonsensical donut salad I intend to eat it. So instead, I made droutons – donut croutons – and I put them on top of a pretty great spicy black-eyed pea salad inspired by a non-vegan recipe. Want to try droutons? OK, here we go.

Vinaigrette: 

• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon ancho chili powder
• Pinch of sugar
• Kosher salt

Whisk all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and let rest at room temperature for an hour.

Cornbread Mini Donuts, or Droutons:

Prepare the cornbread batter as described in the original recipe. I used a mini donut maker, but you could also use a lightly greased mini donut pan following the manufacturer’s instructions. You will have lots of extras – eat them like crazy while they are still warm.

To assemble:

Prepare the vinaigrette and set aside while you prepare the black eyed peas. While the peas cook, start the croutons, and either get them into the oven or into the donut maker.  Transfer a serving of the peas and greens into a salad bowl and top with cripsy vegan bacon and croutons. Want to make your own vegan bacon? Here’s a recipe.

Spicy Black-Eyed Peas with Droutons

By BakeandDestroy Published: May 2, 2014

• Yield: 6 Servings

First came the cronut. Then the donoli. I just heard about wonuts here in Chicago. Earlier this week on my Facebook page I wondered …

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups dried blacked-eye peas 15 oz each
• 2 quarts vegetable broth
• 5 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbs non-hydrogenated margarine
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs hot sauce
• 1 package mixed greens or mix your own
• Kosher salt to taste
• freshly group black pepper to taste
• crispy vegan bacon

Instructions

1. Sort and rinse the black-eye peas. Place the peas, thyme and bay leaf in a large pot and cover with vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer, over the pot, and cook until peas are tender - about 45 minutes.
   
2. See assembly instructions below.
   
3. Drain the peas, and remove the sprigs of thyme and the bay leaf - discard those. You can reserve the cooking liquid for another use, if desired.
   
4. Transfer the hot peas to a large bowl and stir in the margarine, lemon juice and hot sauce. Season with some of the vinaigrette. Add the mixed greens, season with salt and pepper and toss.
   

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