It had to be done, folks. This is a food blog and therefore I’m obligated to post something about eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. It’s in the food blogger rule book, page 93.
Rather than invent something to ring in 2012 on Sunday I plan to turn to one of my stand-by recipes — so why not share them again here with you? I’m offering this post up two days before New Year’s Day so you can get the ingredients over the weekend and then simply cook your good luck up on January 1.
So what is the black-eyed peas / New Year story? I turned to this: 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 theme including:
- Served with greens (collards, mustard or turnip greens, which varies regionally), the peas represent coins and the greens represent paper money. In some areas cabbage is used in place of the greens.
New Year Beans, Greens & Grains
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- 2/3 c farro
- 2 T olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 t thyme (dry)
- 1/2 t sweet basil (dry)
- 3/4 c black-eyed peas (dry)
- 2 c liquid (I used 1 cup water + 1 cup low-sodium vegetable stock)
- 1 T Bragg Liquid Aminos
- 1/2 t Yuzu-It pepper sauce (any hot sauce is fine, I just happened to pick this up at a Japanese market on New Year’s Eve and wanted to try it)
Instructions
Soak farro in water for about 30 minutes (long enough for a nice hot shower post-run).
Heat the pressure cooker on medium and add the drained farro for a quick toss to toast.
Add olive oil, onion, garlic, thyme and sweet basil and stir for a few minutes.
Add the vegetable broth, water and black-eyed peas.
Lock the pressure cooker lid and turn the heat to high.
Once pressure is reached, adjust the heat to keep the pressure regulator gently rocking for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat and let the pressure naturally release.
Stir in the Bragg Liquid Aminos and hot sauce.
- Black-eyed peas eaten with stewed tomatoes represent wealth and health.
Black-Eyed Pea & Collard Green Chili
Ingredients (Makes 8 cups of chili)
- Olive oil
- Half red onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 carrots, chopped
- 4 stalks of celery, chopped
- 4 large collard green leaves, shredded (with a knife, thick pieces)
- 2 T chili powder
- 1 t ground cinnamon
- 1/2 t ground coriander seed
- 1 t ground cumin
- 1 T dried oregano
- 4 slices dried jalapeno, diced
- 2 cups dry black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup filtered water
- Sea salt, to taste
Instructions
Heat olive oil in uncovered pressure cooker
Saute onion and garlic.
Add carrots and celery and continue to saute for another few minutes.
Add collard greens, chili powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, oregano and dried jalapenos and saute for a minute or two.
Add black-eyed peas, bay leaf, tomatoes, tomato sauce, stock and water.
Stir and cover the pressure cooker.
Bring to pressure and then lower heat, maintaining pressure. Cook at pressure for 11 minutes.
Remove from heat and let pressure release naturally.
Remove the pressure cooker lid, away from you. Check the black-eyed peas for doneness. If necessary, simmer on low, uncovered until done.
Stir in salt to taste.
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)–JL note: Not up in here! This is a vegan blog!– and seasonings. Sometimes chopped onions and hot sauce are added.
Johnny Cakes and Black-Eyed Peas
Ingredients (Serves 2)
For the Black-Eyed Peas
- 1 cup black-eyed peas (dry)
- 3 cups of water
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1T Sriracha
- 1 bay leaf
- S+P to taste
Instructions
For the Black-Eyed Peas
Rinse and drain black-eyed peas and toss them into the pressure cooker. Add water, garlic, Sriracha and bay leaf. Bring the peas to high pressure for 10 minutes, followed by a natural release of pressure. The Johnny Cakes were still on the griddle so after removing the lid from the pressure cooker, add salt and pepper to the black-eyed peas and allow them to simmer for five minutes.
For the Johnny Cakes
Begin with this Johnny Cakes recipe. Because the ratio of dry and wet didn’t seem right refer to this oh-so-NOT vegan Bobby Flay recipe and adjust the amount of water (skip the sugar) and add diced jalapeno.
All three dishes are easy to make and oh-so flavorful!
If you don’t have a pressure cooker, use dry black-eyed peas and simply rinse and drain– no soak required:
- Stove-top: Slow cook (low heat) for about 45 minutes.
- Rice cooker: Use 3-4 cups of water to 1 cup of black-eyed peas. Use regular (white rice) setting. Cooking time is about one hour.
- Slow cooker: Simmer on low setting for 8 – 10 hours.
If you make one of the recipes on New Year’s Day, please come back and let us know what you thought!
Wishing you health and wealth!
14 thoughts on “Grab those Black-Eyed Peas and rustle up some good luck for 2012 (three recipes!)”
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That is so funny JL. I thought the obligitory New Years blogger post was the “Best of” post and I have spent the past week slaving over mine! I hadn’t even considered the black eyed peas post. Ha ha. xoxo
Ha! Oh, yeah, that one’s tomorrow (page 56 in the food blogger book, right?) 😉
I love the chili idea! That way I get my black eyed peas and collards in one recipe. Not to mention it’s so warming – it’s finally getting COLD here.
Happy New Year!
Anything I can throw into a pot is great with me! 🙂
oh no – i’ve lost my food blogger handbook! i’m taking notes though… any other must-do’s this week? 😉
happy new year to you & yours JL!
The annual recap and the annual goal post, of course! 🙂
Love black-eyed peas. It’s definitely a southern tradition but many of the folks up north had no clue about thei magical new year powers! Love making it for my friends for the first time…it’s usually a big hit!
I never even heard of it until I move to New York (go figure)!
Great post! You know, eating Black eyes isn’t just a southern American thing. Black folks across the diaspora (Brazil, Caribbean, Africa) all eat them on New Years! I have mine soaking!!! Happy New Year JL! 😀
Page 93, eh? 🙂 Your black eyed pea traditions don’t carry up north in Saskatchewan – I hadn’t even heard of it until I started doing the whole food blog thing! Maybe next year I’ll get into it…the only tradition my family has around new year’s is to order Chinese food. But I think that’s just us. 🙂
Ha! I like that tradition! Maybe next year 🙂
Finally got myself a pressure cooker! I’m so excited! You know what’s weird, though? I have a tough time finding dried black-eyed peas sometimes. Maybe now that it’s close to the new year the stores will have plenty of them so everyone can cook up some “prosperous” stews. 🙂
I actually had to do some hunting, too, and finally found them in bulk at the health food store!
I had no idea about this tradition! Perhaps I’ll have to start next year, seeing as New Year’s Day is nearly over 🙂