Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Black-eyed peas are traditionally eaten for good luck on New Years Day in the Southern US. I also think they are great any time of the year. I haven’t tried it but I think you could substitute 2 cans of black-eyed peas for the fresh ones.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, rinsed, picked over and soaked overnight
• 6 cups water, or more as needed
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chop half and cut the other half into chuncks
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1-2 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded and diced (if desired)
• 4 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound sausage (any type), cut into cubes
• 1 14oz can of chicken broth
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped the leaves and stems
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions

Drain the peas and rinse under cold running water. In a large soup pot, combine the peas with the water and bring to a boil, skimming and discarding any scum that rises to the top.Add the 1/2 onion that you cut into chunks and 2 of the garlic cloves. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the beans are tender but not falling apart: check occasionally and add water if necessary to keep the beans covered.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the remaining onions and salt and pepper to taste and cook 6 to 8 minutes, until carmelized.

Add the green bell pepper and jalapeno peppers (if desired) and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Add the remaining garlic and sausage and cook about 5-10 minutes, until the sausage is brown.

Stir in the cooked peas, chicken broth, cilantro, cumin, oregano, coriander and ginger.  If you want it a little spicier, you can add a dash of cayenne pepper, chili pepper or some Cajun spice. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you want the soup thicker you can either leave uncovered while you simmer or add corn starch.

Serve this alone or over steamed rice. It is also really good with cornbread!

This is an original recipe from Brian which is partly based on the Black Bean Chili.