New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas Soup
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New Year’s Day Black-Eyed Peas Soup, hearty comfort food with ancient traditions, is packed with vegetables, robust in flavor and offers a healthy start to the new year.
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While we think of New Year’s Day soup as a southern, comfort food tradition, eating black eyed peas on New Year’s Day has ancient roots.
“According to a portion of the Talmud written around 500 A.D., it was Jewish custom at the time to eat black-eyed peas in celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.”
The tradition may have arrived with the Sephardic Jews arriving in Georgia in the late 1730s.
A Healthy Start for a New Year
Black Eyed Peas: SF Gate says “Just 1 cup delivers 20 percent of the daily value of magnesium, calcium, and iron, and that’s just the beginning of the nutrition black-eyed peas provide.”
Collards: The Washingtonian says collards are low in calories (35 calories per 1/2 cup of cooked greens) and are rich in folate, calcium, dietary fiber, and vitamins E, A, K, and C.
“Thanks to their many nutrients, collard greens have been associated with cancer prevention, detox support, anti-inflammatory properties, heart health, and digestive support.”
For more healthy recipes to begin the year, New Year Healthy Recipes and Tips to Welcome a New Season is a great resource!
Legend of New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas Soup
Long a tradition in the South, it’s been said that New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas Soup will bring good luck, health, and prosperity in the coming year.
It’s also been said that consuming these legumes demonstrate humility and a lack of vanity. “The humble nature of the black-eyed pea is echoed by the old expression, ‘Eat poor on New Year’s, and eat fat the rest of the year.’
Still, others say these dried beans resemble coins. Others say that because the peas expand during cooking, it symbolizes expanding wealth.
I’m not sure about luck or prosperity, but how can you go wrong with delicious black-eyed peas and collards or other greens?
Ingredients for New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas Soup
Specific ingredient measurements are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s what you’ll need to make this soup:
- Frozen black-eyed peas (or 1lb dry beans, soaked)
- Bacon
- Onion
- Celery
- Carrots
- Canned tomatoes with green chilis
- Chicken broth
- Italian Seasoning
- Red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh greens (spinach, kale, collards)
- Parsley and bacon for garnish
Black Eyed Peas
In this recipe, I’m using frozen black-eyed peas found in the freezer section of most markets. However, if you want to use dried beans or canned beans, there are instructions in the recipe card below.
I like frozen peas because it cuts the cooking time in half.
Collards
While collards are the traditional green used in comfort food soup, you can easily substitute fresh spinach or kale too.
More Healthy Soup Recipes You May Enjoy
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New Year’s Day Black Eyed Peas Soup
Ingredients
- 24 ounces of frozen black-eyed peas or 1lb dry beans, soaked
- ½ pound slab of lean bacon cut into 1/4-inch cubes, about 2 cups
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery about 4 stalks
- 3 large carrots peeled and chopped
- 1 15-ounce can tomatoes with green chilis
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups chopped fresh greens spinach, kale, collards
- fresh chopped parsley for garnish and crumbled bacon
Instructions
- Put the bacon in a heavy kettle and cook, stirring, until browned. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of the fat. Add the chopped onion, celery, and carrots; cook, stirring, until softened.
- Add the frozen peas (or soaked beans), broth, water, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer for about 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until the peas are soft.
- Stir in additional water as needed for soup consistency and return to a boil. Then add the chopped fresh greens and cook until wilted and soft, time will depend on which greens you add. Spinach cooks quickly. Serve garnished with fresh chopped parsley and cooked, crumbled bacon.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I should look at this webpage, as my brother advised, and he was entirely right. You have no idea how much time I spent looking for this information, but this post made my day.
I’m so glad you found it helpful!
Very nice
Thank you ❤️
This was perfect for our lunch!
A great dish after the Christmas season.