New Year's Soup

A blessed New Year! This soup nourished us today, and kept the tradition going. The photo is blurry but will have to do. S asked me to please remember how I made it so I can make it exactly the same again. (How can you possibly make soup exactly the same again?)

New Year’s Soup

By a Californian of Southern Descent

1 lb black-eyed peas

1 onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 hot chiles, minced

(or 2 tbsp chile-garlic paste)

1 bell pepper, minced

1 tbsp “better than bouillon” chicken base

1-2 cups chopped ham

handful swiss chard leaves, chopped

(or substitute fresh spinach)

Rinse and clean black-eyed peas. Put in large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil one minute, remove from heat and let rest one hour. Meanwhile, chop vegetables. Saute onion, garlic, chiles and bell pepper in a bit of olive oil until soft. Drain peas and return to pot with sautéed vegetables, chopped ham and chicken base. Simmer until peas are soft. (I cook in pressure cooker for five minutes under full pressure, letting pressure drop naturally. This usually cooks the peas sufficiently.) Add chopped swiss chard and simmer until of desired consistency.

This delicious soup will use up the rest of the Christmas ham, while providing you with your traditional New Year’s black-eyed peas and greens.

Serve with cornbread and a bottle of Tabasco sauce. Can be served over a mound of rice for a version of "Hoppin' John." Feel very lucky, healthy and ready for a new year.