What else? Of course for Week One we'll start off with the traditional New Year's Day food! Usually I go strictly by the recipe, but here I combined a couple of recipes: this one at Epicurious, and this one at Food Network. I used dried peas vs. canned peas, cooking them with some Petit Jean ham pieces to add flavor. After they were cooked, I drained and added them to the broth mixture as directed in the recipe. Cornbread was the perfect accompaniment to round out our meal!
Black Eyed Pea Soup
Serves 8
Black Eyed Pea Soup
Serves 8
 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 3/4 cups finely chopped onions 1 c. green pepper, chopped 1 c. celery, chopped 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 15-ounce cans black-eyed peas, drained OR 1 pound dried peas, cooked and drained 2 1/4 cups low-salt chicken broth 1 can Rotel tomatoes, drained 2 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano  Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are golden and tender, about 8 minutes. Add black-eyed peas, chicken broth, Rotel, oregano and cayenne pepper and bring to simmer. Simmer 15 minutes to blend flavors. Mix in vinegar. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.) Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve. Notice the soup and sandwich tray in the photo? This set of two was a Christmas gift from my sister who lives in Oregon--love them! So great for serving soup with sandwiches or salad or any other side. And the green pot in the background is my favorite kitchen item, a LeCreuset dutch oven. More later on the perfect soup pot--- I'll be raving about it from time to time! Hope you enjoyed your black-eyed peas today, however you prepared them! |
How fun!! I love making soup and will be frequenting your cute blog! I just made some spicy lentil soup last night and it was awesome... I'll send the recipe and info your way :) love!
ReplyDeleteHow did you like your first soup?
ReplyDeleteBluebird: It was yummy! And a great way to eat black-eyed peas!
ReplyDeleteMel: Thanks for your enthusiasm! And expect to see the lentil soup posted on one of the 51 weeks coming up:) Looking forward to trying it-thanks for sending!
And just why do we eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day? Our good luck meal was served in the traditional style yet sans cornbread. We introduced our Oregonian family to this Southern tradition.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year for Soups!
Ha! Thanks, Tunna, for turning the conversation to tradition! So I went to Wikipedia and here's what I found: "The traditional meal also features collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.[6] Cornbread also often accompanies this meal."
ReplyDeleteIn the recipe above, I forgot to mention my own addition of a little fresh spinach I threw in for the "green". It was a nice addition, too.
But really. Who knew that the ham was for pigs rooting forward when foraging, representing forward motion? All I can say is GO HOGS!! Ha!