A Recipe For . . .

... Crispy Black-Eyed Peas at Ada Street.

Los Angeles native Zoe Schor cultivated her culinary skills with some of the best names in the biz: Thomas Keller (Bouchon), Tom Colicchio (Craft) and Todd English (Beso). As chef of Bucktown newcomer Ada Street—owned by powerhouse duo Michael Kornick and David Morton—she's bringing everything she's learned, but making certain she keeps dishes as uncomplicated as possible.

"My appreciation for food and wine comes from a childhood of learning that if it's easy, it isn’t necessarily good, but that good doesn't necessarily mean complicated," says Schor. "Simple pleasures are often the best."

Take, for example, her signature Crispy Black-Eyed Peas appetizer. She's elevated the Southern favorite, yet keeps its preparation and ingredients basic.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients for Black-Eyed Peas

1 cup dry black-eyed peas
4 cups of water
1 tbsp salt
1 cup of buttermilk

Seasoned Flour (mix ingredients)

1 cup of Semolina flour
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 tbsp of Old Bay seasoning

Directions:

Take dry black-eyed peas and soak them in water overnight. Drain the water and put the soaked peas in a small pot of fresh water (two cups or at least two inches covering the peas). Cook for 20-25 minutes until cooked through, but not broken up. Leave in the pot with water and season with a tablespoon of salt. Let them cool in water until 20 minutes or until they are cooled off. Drain the water from peas.

Next, soak the peas for one hour in one cup of buttermilk to coat. Right before serving, drain extra buttermilk. Dredge in seasoned flour mix and fry in canola oil for two to three minutes until golden brown. They're best when served warm.