Recipes

Lucky New Years Black Eyed Peas & Greens

A favorite southern dish known as “Hoppin’ John”, or black eyed peas and rice, is served with collard greens on New Year’s Day to ensure good luck and prosperity in the coming year. The greens symbolize money and prosperity and the peas represent good luck and humility. Here, the three core ingredients of this classic New Year’s favorite are combined into a simple one dish meal.

Ingredients

1 bunch collard greens, stemmed & chopped (about 5 cups)
4 slices bacon, ½” dice
1 celery rib, ¼” dice (about ½ cup)
1 small yellow onion, ¼” dice (about 2 cups)
1 small green bell pepper, ¼” dice (about 1 ½ cups)
4 cups chicken stock, low sodium
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
¼ cup Armanino Creamy Garlic Sauce
1 teaspoon hot sauce, or more to taste
2 15-ounce cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked white rice

Directions

Prepare the collard greens: wash and shake dry. Remove and discard the stems, cut the leaf halves in half lengthwise again and then cut crosswise into short ½” wide ribbons. Set aside.
In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until it begins to render some fat, about 5 minutes.
As the fat begins to release, increase the heat to medium-high and add the onion, celery and bell pepper; cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the creamy garlic sauce, give a stir then add the chicken stock, water, thyme, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (if using).
Bring to a boil then add the sliced collard greens, reduce to low and simmer, covered, until the greens are tender, about 20-25 minutes or longer if you prefer a very tender green.
Gently stir in the black-eyed peas, until well combined. Taste and add the hot sauce and more salt if needed. Let simmer another 5 minutes to warm through.
Add the cooked rice and stir until heated through.
Serve in warm in large bowls with cornbread. Can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Heat gently over low heat, adding more chicken stock if needed.

Chef’s Tips

The easiest and neatest way to chop bacon is to freeze until firm. Even a quick 15 minutes will make chopping much easier.
Don’t care for bacon? Try diced ham or even the shredded meat from a smoked turkey leg. Since these won’t render fat as the bacon will, add 1 Tablespoons oil to the pan to sauté the vegetables and add these meats after sautéing.
Any pea will work well in this recipe – try crowder, pigeon peas or purple hull. Though not traditional red beans would be delicious as well.
Mix up the greens – try turnip, kale or Swiss chard – adjusting the cooking times as needed.