Soupalooza: Black-eyed pea soup boosts health, good luck in New Year
I love the musical group, the Black Eyed Peas and black-eyed Susans are among my favorite flowers. Yet, somehow I have managed to never eat or cook black-eyed peas. No reason, really. It just never occurred to me. I guess I'm a Northern girl at heart.
But every year, around this time, I stumble onto a recipe or story about the Southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for good luck and I'm intrigued.
After all, who doesn't want a little extra good luck — especially when it involves eating something so obviously good for you? Black-eyed peas (which really aren't peas at all, but rather beans) are low in fat and sodium and contain no cholesterol. They are high in iron and fiber and a ½ cup serving of cooked black-eyed peas counts as one ounce of lean meat.
While they have been around since prehistoric times, they made their way to the American South, via West Africa to the West Indies by slaves. Subsequently, they reached the Low country coastal regions of the Carolinas and Georgia, also via the slave trade, more than 300 years ago.
The tradition of eating them for good luck in the United States started around the Civil War. The beans, when cooked, swell up and so represent prosperity. You are supposed to add greens to the dish, which symbolizes money. The beans are traditionally made with some kind of pork and served with cornbread. There's also another part of the tradition that involves eating or cooking them with stewed tomatoes.
I opted for a healthy version, courtesy of Vegetarian Times, which involves three of the traditional ingredients: black-eyed peas, kale and diced tomatoes. It is fairly easy to prepare and, while I rinsed the beans, I didn't bother soaking them and that saved a lot of time.
With the addition of farfalle pasta and shaved parmesan, the dish is hearty, but simple. The beans themselves have a nutty, earthy flavor and the entire dish reminded me of the Italian bean and pasta soup called pasta fagiole.
So, if like me, you haven't tried black-eyed peas before, now's the time. Eat them for good luck and eat them for good health, the best kind of good fortune there is.
• M. Eileen Brown is the Daily Herald's director of strategic marketing and innovation, and an incurable soup-a-holic. She specializes in vegetarian soups and blogs at soupalooza.com.