HAPPY NEW YEAR !
We rang in the New Year 2014 with my son and his family. Doug is becoming notorious for his delicious soups, so he made a new recipe just for the day. Of course, black-eyed peas are traditionally eaten in some regions on New Year's Day to bring good luck.
Black-Eyed Peas
A Southern Tradition for Luck and Prosperity in the New Year
If
you are planning to celebrate the New Year in the Southeast, it is
most likely that you will be offered black-eyed peas in some form,
either just after midnight or on New Year's Day. From grand gala
gourmet dinners to small casual gatherings with friends and family,
these flavorful legumes are traditionally, according to Southern
folklore, the first food to be eaten on New Year's Day for luck and
prosperity throughout the year ahead.
The
practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck is generally believed to
date back to the Civil War. At first planted as food for livestock,
and later a food staple for slaves in the South, the fields of
black-eyed peas were ignored as Sherman's troops destroyed or stole
other crops, thereby giving the humble, but nourishing, black-eyed
pea an important role as a major food source for surviving
Confederates.
Today,
the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year has evolved
into a number of variations and embellishments of the luck
and prosperity.
Hoppin'
John -
Although served throughout the year as well, Hoppin' John is one of
the most traditional New Year's Eve and New Year's Day dishes in the
South. Black-eyed peas are cooked with rice, pork (such as chopped
pork or ham, hog jowls or hambones, fatback or bacon) and
seasonings. Sometimes
chopped onions and hot sauce are added.
New
Year's Day Soup
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound dry black-eyed peas
3 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
1 pound smoked sausage,
sliced
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1 cup uncooked long grain white rice
1 (4
ounce) can diced green chilies,
drained
ground
black pepper to taste
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DIRECTIONS:
1.
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In a large saucepan with
enough water to cover, soak the black-eyed peas 8 hours,
or
overnight.
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2.
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Drain and rinse the soaked
black-eyed peas, and return to the saucepan.
Mix in the beef
broth, dry onion soup mix, sausage, rice, and green chilies.
Season with pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 1
hour and 30 minutes,
or until the beans are tender.
Add water as
necessary to keep the ingredients covered with liquid.
Printable version: New Year's Soup
Soak black-eyed peas overnight.
Gather the ingredients.
Slice the smoked sausage. Doug also used Andouille Sausage.
Brown sausage.
Drain the black-eyed peas.
Rinse them.
Add all the ingredients to the pot.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 1-1/2 hours
until beans are tender.
As the soup cooks, add more beef broth or water as necessary
to keep the beans covered with liquid.
Welcome in the New Year with this delicious soup.
Enjoy!
   
Happy New Year!
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