Lucky Legumes - Black-Eyed Peas

Black-eyed peas may not be for everyone but they are a legume and on New Year's Day, Italians believe legumes are lucky. Black-eyed peas (a mature bean) are a vegetable and also a bean for protein. Black-eyed peas contain specific nutrients such as zinc, iron, and amino acids typically found in the protein food group. The common names of beans and peas are inconsistent; other legumes popularly called “peas” are the butterfly pea the chickpea, pigeon peas, and the winged pea. As legumes, they are extremely nourishing vegetables, both to people and to the soil. They can fix nitrogen, meaning nitrogen from the air is taken in by the plant, and bacteria living in the roots convert it to a usable plant nutrient. Because of this process, nitrogen-fixing plants improve soil quality by adding nutrients back into the soil. They are lucky, good for the soil, and a great source of protein.

Fun Facts about black-eyed peas:

• Cultivated since pre-historic times in China and India, they are related to the mung bean. The ancient Greeks and Romans preferred them to chickpeas.

• Brought to the West Indies by enslaved West Africans, by earliest records in 1674.

• Originally used as food for livestock, they became a staple of the slaves’ diet. During the Civil War, black-eyed peas (field peas) and corn were thus ignored by Sherman’s troops. Left behind in the fields, they became important food for the Confederate South.

• In the American South, eating black-eyed peas and greens (such as collards) on New Year’s Day is considered good luck: the peas symbolize coins and the greens symbolize paper money.

• They are a key ingredient in Hoppin’ John (peas, rice, and pork) and part of African-American “soul food.”

• Originally called Monette (French for nun). The black eye in the center of the bean (where it attaches to the pod) reminded some of a nun’s head attire.

Published: 11/19/2019. Author: Science Reference Section, Library of Congress

Let's get cooking, you'll need:

1 package of dry black-eyed peas (soak overnight in salted water)

1 small onion - diced

4 tbsp olive oil

1 carrot- peeled and diced

1/2 green squash diced

1/2 cup diced

1/4 cup diced green beans

2 quarts low sodium chicken stock

4 cloves of minced garlic

3 tsp Italian Seasonings

4 cups chopped collards

Dice all the veggies (try to make them the same size, they cook better) and have them ready to go in a large stock pot.

Chop the ham and set it aside with the minced garlic. Drain the black-eyed peas and pat dry (makes them easier to cook evenly).

Add the olive oil to the bottom of a large stock pot and add the minced veggies. Cook them until you can smell the garlic and onions (translucent). Add the minced ham and black-eyed peas. Brown for 5 mins or until the ham gets a beautiful brown color. Add the Italian season and the chicken stock (you can also use vegetable stock).

Make this your own and add whatever veggies you like and you can use a smoked ham hock instead of minced ham. We had leftover green beans, ham from a ham steak, and squash, that's why I included them in this dish. Look in your refrigerator, what treasures are in there?

Add the stock and simmer for 2 hours on low. The black-eyed peas need to be tender and soft (a fork needs to pass through them easily). When tender, add the collards and cook for another hour.

While they cook, they will fill the house with an aroma that reminds me of my childhood, only we used lentils are our lucky legume. Lentils represent the Roman coin and it is said that you will have prosperity and money all year. I found out that black-eyed peas, normally a southern dish, are also lucky legumes. They look to the future (their eyes) and are a great source of protein.

No matter what legume you cook today, may your new year be full of wealth, luck, and prosperity.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!