Easy peasy: Give a nod to New Year's tradition

It is traditional to eat black-eyed peas and greens on New Year's Day in the South. The story is told that the fields planted in black-eyed peas were not a crop the Union troops during the Civil War recognized as fit for human consumption, and so they did not bother to destroy them as they did almost all else. That in itself is cause for celebration. So this simple pea was one of the few things left to eat and came to represent good luck.

Others say that the peas represent coins and so insure wealth, but that is a far less interesting story, so we mention it in passing only.

Greens also are eaten for their representation of wealth -- the color green, as in greenbacks. It seems in the Old World, cabbage was the "green" that was eaten, but the truth is that cabbage, collard and turnip greens are crops that are available this time of year. The practical truth is almost always not as interesting as the myth or legend.

Do you know the songs about beans and cornbread? One starts out like this:

"Beans and Cornbread": "Beans and Cornbread had a fight; Beans knocked Cornbread out of sight."

And another one:

"Cornbread and butterbeans and you across the table; eatin' beans and makin' love as long as I am able."

Any food that is good enough to sing about has got to be seriously good.

What is most important about this recipe is that you are making a flavorful stock in which to cook the peas. If you have other ingredients you would like to add to soup up your version a bit, please do. Consider jalapeño peppers, okra, a few pieces of large diced carrot or pumpkin. Remember to go lightly on the salt.

TRADITIONAL BLACK-EYED PEAS

1 pound dried black-eyed peas

1/2 cup chopped smoked sausage (or ham hock)

1 chopped onion

1 chopped bell pepper

3-4 cloves chopped garlic

Chicken stock to cover by 1 inch

1 bay leaf

Black pepper, red pepper flakes

Soak the beans overnight in water, drain and pick over, removing any debris. Sauté the sausage in a little olive oil until well browned, add the onion, bay leaf, and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Season aggressively. Now add the peas and slowly simmer until tender, time varies, but plan on from 1 hour to 1- 1/2 hours. About halfway through the cooking process, taste and re-season as necessary. Serve with cornbread and tomato chow-chow (recipe follows)

Some people call this tomato chutney, but that seems a bit gentrified to me. It is a very basic sweet, sour and hot sauce that is delicious on peas and beans, which of course needs to be served on top of cornbread. This recipe has been in my family for generations, it really is that good.

JOSEPHINE'S TOMATO CHOW-CHOW

1 large can diced or whole tomatoes

1- 1/2 chopped onion

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2-4 whole cloves

1-2 hot peppers

Combine the tomatoes, 1 cup chopped onion, sugar, vinegar, cloves and peppers to a pot and simmer until thick, stirring constantly.

This is a Low Country recipe, but it is good enough to have made its way around the South.

HOPPIN' JOHN

1-2 ham hocks

1 chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

4-6 cloves chopped garlic

1 pound dried black-eyed peas

1 bay leaf

Salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes

Chicken stock to cover

2-3 cups cooked rice

Soak the peas in cool water over night, then drain. In a large, heavy-bottom stock pot, sauté the onion and bell pepper in a little oil for 2-3 minutes, add the garlic and cook 2 minutes more. Add the ham hocks, soaked peas, and bay leaf to the pot, add chicken stock to cover by an inch or more and simmer until the peas are tender, at least 1 hour, perhaps 1- 1/2 hours. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf, or someone will be very unhappy. Combine with the rice and serve piping hot.

This is a great snack food for when you are sitting around watching the game and having a cold one. So simple and so good. Alton Brown called them one of the best things he has ever had. This recipe will also work with field peas and white beans.

DEEP FRIED BLACK-EYED PEAS

2-3 cups leftover black-eyed peas

Old Bay Seasoning or Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning

Tomato chow-chow, recipe above (optional)

Oil for deep frying

Use leftover black eyed peas, but in a real emergency you can use canned. Make sure the peas are very well drained, then place them on a kitchen towel to remove every bit of moisture that you can. Bring a pot filled only halfway up with oil to 325 degrees. A pot that is overfilled is a serious fire hazard. Carefully add peas to the oil, in small batches at a time, and fry until crisp. Remove and drain, then aggressively season. It is pretty cool to serve them in a glass mason jar, along with a spoon. As with all fried food, these should be served immediately. Every minute counts, so get them to your table just as quickly as possible.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Easy peasy: Give a nod to New Year's tradition ."