It’s time to SOAK THE PEAS! for the New Year ~ Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s day is a sacred tradition in the South served with greens, ham and cornbread. Here’s a head start on cooking up these sacred legumes:
BLACK-EYED PEAS
The Basic Recipe
Ingredients:
Dried Black-eyed peas (these come in bags at the local grocery store and you’ll have to decide how many bags you want to cook up at one time – our family eats about 4 of the small bags or two of the medium size bags.)
Salt
Other seasoning based on preference (i.e. butter, bacon drippings, garlic powder, a good chunk of fatback, beef or chicken bouillon cube, etc.)
Prep time: 2 days
DAY 1:
You will need to soak your peas overnight; in a large bowl or you can use the large pot you’ll be cooking in, pour all of your dried peas in, lightly salt and cover with cold water. Allow to sit overnight. Some people will tell you to add a dash of baking soda in order to “take the gas out” of them………I’ve cooked mine both ways – with and without the baking soda – and either way, we still “get the gas”.
DAY 2:
Drain the peas that you’ve soaked overnight and rinse well with cold water. Pour the peas into a large pot and add a generous teaspoon of baking drippings or add your fatback (do not add both), a tablespoon of butter, a couple of good shakes of salt (from a large salt shaker) as well as about a heaping teaspoon of garlic powder; if you use bouillon add it as well. Cook the peas on medium high setting on your cook top and bring to a strong boil. After the peas come to a rolling boil, reduce heat to simmer stirring every 10-15 minutes. Full length cook time varies depending on the amount of peas you’re cooking and, truthfully, I’ve never timed the entire event – I just know what they look and taste like when they’re ready. On average, it should take longer than 30 minutes but no more than one hour for the peas to be done unless you’re cooking an enormous amount of peas. The liquid should be dark; the peas will be a nice tan color and tender to eat, never crisp or crunchy, and definitely not mushy. Do not overcook the peas as they will turn to mush.
Serve piping hot in a bowl covered in its own juice or serve over rice with or without refrigerated canned tomatoes poured over them (my Dad’s favorite!). Add a large wedge of onion to the plate to eat along side your peas or you can also add a couple of shots of hot sauce to them as well when ready to eat.
At New Year’s, our family says that you must eat the same number of peas for the new year that turns – so this year, everyone must eat 2007 black-eyed peas and eat them all day! Enjoy!
From our family to yours, have a healthy, happy and blessed 2007!
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