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| A Big Pot of Good Luck for the New Year |
If the new year turns out as well as this dish did, then it's going to be a very good year!
Instead of cooking them separately, I combined the traditional new year's day black-eyed peas with the cooked greens, usually collard greens, but in this case I used fresh kale from our local farmers market, and proscuitto instead of bacon.
Takes 24 hours to soak the peas overnight and then 1-1.5 hours to cook them on the stovetop, so plan accordingly.
---Barbara
Black-Eyed Peas with Kale and Prosciutto
1 pound black-eyed peas, washed, sorted, soaked 24 hours
1 4-ounce container diced proscuitto
2 T. butter
1 very large sweet onion (2 cups), roughly chopped
5-6 cloves of fresh garlic, roughly chopped
1 large bay leaf
5 whole cloves
freshly ground black pepper
2 14.5 ounces cans (3.5 cups) of low-sodium chicken broth
1 large bunch kale (12 cups), washed, stems removed, roughly chopped
Be sure to remember to start soaking the peas the night before.
You will need a large stockpot (8 quart).
Rinse the peas, remove any stones or bad peas, then cover them in 4 inches of cold water and soak overnight for 24 hours.
Drain into a colander and set aside.
Wipe out the stockpot with a paper towel to remove any starch and dry the surface for sauteeing.
On medium heat, add the diced proscuitto and 2 T. butter and saute until it starts to lightly brown.
Add the chopped onion and saute until translucent about 5 minutes.
Add the chopped garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the peas and stir until they are all well coated.
Add lots of freshly ground pepper but no salt.
Add 2 cans of chicken broth. Doesn't need to be accurate but be sure the beans are covered.
Add the bay leaf and the cloves.
Taste one of the peas, to have a comparison for tasting later. It will have a raw garden pea taste and crunchy texture.
Bring to continuous simmer, then reduce to very low and simmer for 1/2 hour.
Taste a pea. It should be al dente. Still firm but the raw taste will be gone.
Add the chopped kale, and stir it all together, being sure that all of the kale gets coated with the liquid and the peas. It will seem a little dry but the kale will release some moisture. And it's not supposed to be a soup.
Cover with the lid slightly ajar, and cook on a very low simmer for another 20 minutes to 1/2 hour or until the kale and the peas are done, but not mushy.
Turn off the heat.
Test for seasoning. Mine did not need any salt due to the proscuitto.
Serve immediately or gently reheat before serving.
B