Rancho Gordo Field Peas with Thick-Cut Bacon Over Baked Potatoes

Rancho Gordo field peas recipe with thick-cut bacon and roasted red peppers, served over baked potatoes. Hearty, simple comfort food.

Lou LaMedica

Feb 11, 2026

Beans

Rancho Gordo Field Peas with Thick-Cut Bacon Over Baked Potatoes

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Rancho Gordo Field Peas with Thick-Cut Bacon Over Buttered Baked Potatoes

Why We Soak

Ingredients

Step 1 – Cook the Peas

Step 2 – Bake or Air Fry the Potatoes

Step 3 – Render the Bacon

Step 4 – Finish

Assemble

Rancho Gordo Field Peas with Thick-Cut Bacon Over Buttered Baked Potatoes

Some meals are planned.

Others assemble themselves in layers —

soaked beans, rendered bacon, softened onions, crisped potatoes —

each doing quiet work before they meet.

This is that kind of meal.

Not complicated.

Just intentional.

And yes — thick-cut bacon.

Because texture matters.

Why We Soak

Rancho Gordo beans are dried beans. They need water before heat.

An overnight soak (8–12 hours):

Promotes even cooking

Protects the skins

Shortens cook time

Produces a cleaner broth

Field peas especially reward patience. Soak them.

Ingredients

For the peas

1 lb Rancho Gordo field peas, soaked overnight and drained

1 onion, halved

3–4 garlic cloves, smashed

2 bay leaves

Parsley stems (optional)

Salt (added near the end)

For the finish

6–8 oz thick-cut bacon, diced

½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, sliced

Fresh cracked black pepper

For serving

2–4 russet potatoes

Extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Butter

Step 1 – Cook the Peas

Add soaked peas to a heavy pot with onion, garlic, bay, and parsley stems.

Cover with fresh water by about 2 inches.

Bring to a gentle simmer — never a hard boil.

Maintain a steady medium-slow simmer for 1½ to 2 hours, until creamy inside but intact.

Salt during the final 20–30 minutes.

Remove aromatics before finishing.

Step 2 – Bake or Air Fry the Potatoes

Scrub russets.

Rub with olive oil.

Salt generously.

Bake or air fry at 400°F for 55–65 minutes until skins crackle and interiors fluff.

Split while hot. Add butter. Fluff lightly.

Step 3 – Render the Bacon

Start thick-cut bacon in a cold skillet.

Bring heat up gradually.

You want rendered fat, crisp edges, and a meaty center.

Remove once browned but not brittle. Remove about 1/2 of the fat and reserve for another use. Leave the remaining fat in the pan.

Step 4 – Finish

Add roasted red peppers to the bacon fat. Let them soften.

Stir in peas and 1–2 ladles of broth.

Simmer 5–10 minutes until glossy and lightly reduced.

Return bacon to the pan.

Taste. Adjust salt and pepper.

It should coat a spoon — not run.

Assemble

Spoon peas over the buttered potato.

Let the hot starch absorb the broth.

Finish with cracked pepper.

No bread necessary.

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Lou LaMedica

Rancho Gordo Field Peas with Thick-Cut Bacon Over Baked Potatoes

Rancho Gordo Field Peas with Thick-Cut Bacon Over Buttered Baked Potatoes

Why We Soak

Ingredients

Step 1 – Cook the Peas

Step 2 – Bake or Air Fry the Potatoes

Step 3 – Render the Bacon

Step 4 – Finish

Assemble

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