HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope everyone had a very happy holiday season! Mine was fabulous and I enjoyed celebrating the holidays and the New Year with the best of friends and family! 2014 will be hard to top but I have high expectations that 2015 will be even better!
In the South, we believe that eating black-eyes peas on New Years day will bring you luck and prosperity throughout the year. This Black-Eyed Pea Tomato and Vegetable Soup recipe is healthy, full of hearty vegetables, and is the PERFECT good luck dish to enjoy on this chilly New Year’s Day!
I wanted to create something tasty and filling that can be enjoyed as an appetizer or main dish, alone or with a group of friends or family members. This is a pretty simple recipe and involves minimal cooking, so its a great dish to make while entertaining company!
Before cooking, drizzle 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil over 2 cups of whole cherry tomatoes and 6 baby red potatoes (cut into eighths) and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and dried rosemary. Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
While tomatoes and potatoes are roasting chop 1 sweet onion, 1 and half cups of baby carrots, 2 leeks, 4 celery sticks, and 5 cups of fresh kale. Set aside. Prepare 24 oz. of black-eyed peas. You can cook bulk black-eyed peas or use canned black-eyed peas. If using canned black-eyed peas, be sure to drain them.
Once everything is chopped, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot and add minced garlic, onions, and leeks. Saut̩ for about 5 minutes or until leeks and onions are translucent. Once your tomatoes and potatoes are done roasting add them to the pot along with a 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes, 4 cups of veggie broth, black-eyed peas, chopped celery, baby carrots, and one 4 oz. can of diced green chilies. Bring burner to high heat and stir 1 teaspoon of cayenne, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1 tablespoon of dried rosemary and 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper into contents of pot. Mix well so all ingredients are combined. Cover with a lid and let sit for about 20 Р25 minutes. Contents in pot should come to a steady boil. Let ingredients boil for about 5 Р10 minutes, then reduce to medium heat for remainder of time.
After 20 – 25 minutes, ingredients should look soupy and translucent. (Your house should be smelling pretty delicious at this point too!) Add your chopped kale to the pot, quickly stir, and cover for about 5 more minutes on medium-low heat. The steam in the pot will cause your kale to wilt to the perfect consistency.
After about 5 minutes, give your soup a quick stir, reduce heat to low, and spoon into bowls, top with freshly shaved parmesan and serve! Leave soup coverd on low heat. This will keep it warm incase anyone wants seconds… or thirds!
You can store your leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Re-heat in the microwave to enjoy again and again!
MEAT OPTION: If you want to add meat or make a meat-frendly version, I suggest adding 3 cups of chopped sausage and 1 cup of chopped bacon. Stir your cooked meat in when adding the veggie broth and chopped veggies. Again, be sure to cook the sausage and bacon before adding!
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