This Southern-style black eyed peas dish is built on smoky bacon, sausage and spices. Traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day for good luck and prosperity, this version keeps the spirit of the original but cooks faster and finishes with a quick blend for a thicker, creamier texture.
Category
Dinner
Servings
4
Prep time
3 hours
Cook time
45 minutes
This Southern-style black eyed peas dish is built on smoky bacon, sausage and spices. Traditionally eaten on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day for good luck and prosperity, this version keeps the spirit of the original but cooks faster and finishes with a quick blend for a thicker, creamier texture.
Note: Your prep time includes soaking the black eye peas for at least 3 hours. The rest of the prep only takes 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- 300g (1½ cups) black eye peas
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 200g smoked bacon (beef bacon), diced
- 1 smoked chorizo sausage (or kielbasa), diced
- 1 red capsicum (bell pepper), diced
- 1 green capsicum (bell pepper), diced
- 1 celery stick, diced
- 2 spring onions, sliced, white and green parts separated
- 1 brown onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, diced
- 3 fresh bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1½ tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 L chicken stock
- ⅓ cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Directions
Soak the peas
Rinse the black eye peas under cold water and discard any broken ones.
- Place the peas in a large container and cover with plenty of water. Cover and set aside to soak for 3-4 hours, but ideally overnight.
Cook the base
Dice the bacon, chorizo, capsicums, celery, brown onion and garlic. Slice the spring onions and separate the green and white parts.
- Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan over medium high heat.
- Cook the bacon for 2-3 minutes, until the fat has rendered and it starts to brown.
- Add the sausage and cook, stirring occasionally, for a further few minutes.
- Add the capsicums, celery, brown onion, garlic and spring onion whites to the pan. Cook for 8-10 minutes until starting to soften, stirring often.
- Add the bay leaves, dried oregano, smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic powder and onion powder. Stir well to combine and cook until the spices are fragrant.
- Mix in the drained peas and the stock. Bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and reduce the heat to medium low.
- Simmer for 15 minutes, then uncover and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Finish and serve
Turn the heat off and remove the bay leaves. Using a stick blender(immersion blender), pulse the soup a little to puree one third of the beans. Stir through the spring onion greens and fresh parsley, and serve!
Recipe notes
Cook support
Soak your peas overnight so they're ready to go the next day.
Pulsing the finished dish with a stick blender adds an element of creaminess and thicker texture to the soup.
Sourcing
Good delis will have a selection of smoked sausages to choose from for this dish. We used some of our homemade beef bacon, but smoked pork bacon or speck will work beautifully too.
Black eye peas (also known as “cow peas”) are available dried from quality green grocers and major supermarkets.
Storage
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 5 days.
Serving ideas
Serving this with a side of collard greens and cornbread is said to bring more luck in the way of money and gold, respectively.
