Good Luck for 2013: New Year's Soup Recipe ♥<br/> with Black-eyed Peas & Collard Greens (2024)

RECIPE for NEW YEAR's SOUP with BLACK-EYED PEAS & COLLARD GREENS

Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Time to table: 90 minutes
Makes 7 cups

BLACK-EYED PEAS
1 cup (160g/5.7oz) dried black-eyed peas, rinsed under running water
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic
about 3 cups water, enough to cover by 2 inches
1 teaspoon kosher salt

SOUP
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped in large pieces
2 ribs celery, chopped in large pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped in large pieces
1 red bell pepper, chopped in large pieces
15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Sprinkle cayenne pepper
2 large collard green leaves, rinsed well, heavy stems cut away and discarded, leaves cut into 1 inch squares (about 3 ounces/1 cup squares)

Cooked black-eyed peas including the cooking water
3 cups water

COOK BLACK-EYED PEAS In a medium saucepan, combine black-eyed peas, bay leaves, garlic and water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and let simmer for about 25 minutes or until the peas are "almost but not fully cooked" – they'll finish cooking with the soup. Add salt and cook another 5 minutes.

MAKE THE SOUP While the black-eyed peas cook, in a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until shimmery. Stir in onion, celery, carrots and bell pepper as they are prepped, stirring to coat with fat with each addition and stirring occasionally as well. When the vegetables are almost cooked, stir in the tomatoes, thyme, pepper and cayenne and bring to a boil. Stir in collard green leaves, cook for 1 minute. Stir in cooked black-eyed peas and their cooking water, then 3 cups water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, let simmer for about 30 minutes or until the black-eyed peas are fully cooked and the vegetables cooked but still firm.

TO SERVE Serve immediately, this soup needs no time for the flavors to meld.

ALANNA's TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
SALT TIMING I've never experimented with this but was intrigued by the instructions to cook with black-eyed peas without salt for 25 minutes, then to add what seems like quite a lot of salt (it's enough for the peas plus the entire pot of soup so really isn't so much) and cook for another 5 minutes. I think – does anyone know for sure? – that the idea here is to leave the salt out at first to prevent the beans from getting tough, then adding it late because really, dried beans and peas really do need a good quotient of salt.
TIMING At first, I thought the soup was "done" when everything was combined, before cooking for 30 minutes. But it wasn't, really. That 30 minutes made all the difference in flavors and reaching the right consistency.

Still Hungry?

NEVER MISS A RECIPE! For "home delivery" of new recipes from A Veggie Venture, sign up here.
Once you do, new recipes will be automatically delivered straight to your e-mail In Box.

THIS WEEK, ELSEWHERE

Mini Tiramisu Cups with Pralines
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

LUCKY for NEW YEAR's:
MORE FAVORITE RECIPES for BLACK-EYED PEAS & COLLARDS

~ Braised Collard Greens ~
~ New Year's Turnip Greens ~
~ Summer Black-Eyed Pea Salad ~
(really a year-round salad that just tastes like summer)
~ Hoppin' John Soup ~
~ more ~
~ more recipes for leafy greens ~
from A Veggie Venture

~ Lucky Black-Eyed Pea Salad ~
~ Lucky Black-eyed Pea Soup ~
~ more New Year's recipes ~
from Kitchen Parade, my food column

SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

New Year's Turnip Greens Hoppin' John Soup Hot Corn Dip