Black Eyed Pea Soup With Ham Hocks And Creme Fraiche Recipes

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Sort through the peas and pick out any pebbles or other debris. Rinse the peas under cold water. Put the peas in a 5-quart Dutch oven and cover with 5 cups cold water. Place over high heat and bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, cover and let peas soak for 1 hour.
• Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. When cool, crumble the bacon and set aside. Add the oil to the skillet with the bacon fat Add the onions, carrots and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the collard greens and garlic and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Add the vegetables to the Dutch oven along with the chicken broth, ham hock, crumbled bacon, rice and 4 cups water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, covered, until the peas and rice are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Remove the ham hock from the Dutch oven. Discard the skin and bone. Chop the meat into small pieces and return it to the Dutch oven. Season the soup with salt and pepper.

SLOW-COOKER HAM AND BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Spray 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
• In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook and stir 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add garlic and thyme; cook and stir 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker.
• Add broth, black-eyed peas and ham hock to slow cooker.
• Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until meat on ham hock is tender and easily separated from bone.
• Remove ham hock. Remove ham from bone; discard bone. Shred ham; return to slow cooker, and stir.
• Skim off any excess fat from top of soup. Add parsley, and serve.

BLACK-EYED PEAS AND HAM HOCKS

Steps:

• Rinse dried peas thoroughly, sorting any tiny pebbles or other debris.
• In a large stockpot, bring 3 cups of water to a boil with black-eyed peas, ham hocks, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours, or until peas and ham hocks are tender. If ham hocks require further cooking, simmer in water in a separate pot until meat is easily pulled from the bone.
• Cool ham hocks and remove all meat from the bone. Stir ham into the peas, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper as needed, and serve.

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP WITH HAM AND WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a deep skillet or casserole and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the meat and cook, stirring, for a minute; then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens and begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and 4 cups water and bring to a boil; turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the peas are completely tender--10 minutes for cooked or canned black-eyed peas, about 30 minutes for frozen.
• Stir in the watercress and cook, stirring occasionally, for just a couple of minutes, or until it wilts. Add more water, if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning, stir in the remaining tablespoon oil, and serve.
• With Minimal effort: The meat can be prosciutto or ham; you can use bacon or pancetta instead, but cook them a little longer. Instead of onion, you can use garlic, leek, or shallots. Black-eyed peas are the traditional choice, but any legume will work perfectly well. For the watercress, substitute arugula or spinach, or any winter green, like kale, mustard, collards, and turnips, all of which will take a little longer to cook--add them to the soup along with the peas. Liquid condiments, like Tabasco or another hot sauce or vinegar, are good here. Increase the amount of meat to 1/2 pound or so (this is especially good with ham), double the amount of greens, and cook the soup until it's thick; you can call it a stew.

BLACK-EYED PEAS WITH STEWED TOMATOES

Steps:

• Put the peas in a pot and cover with water by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let them soak for 1 hour. (Or cover the with cold water and let them soak overnight.)
• Meanwhile, drain the tomatoes and reserve the liquid. Hand crush the tomatoes into a saucepan and add the sugar and 1/2 cup of the liquid. Cook over medium low heat, being careful not to let it burn, until the liquid has evaporated and the tomatoes are thick, about 30 minutes.
• In a large pot over medium heat add the olive oil, onion, garlic, and ham hock. Cook until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the soaked peas and the stock and cook, covered, until the peas are tender, about 20 minutes. Add some water if you need more liquid. Remove the ham hock and fold in the tomato mixture. Taste, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

SPLIT PEA SOUP WITH HAM HOCKS

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, saute onion, celery and carrots over medium-high heat. Add peas and ham hock and cover with stock by a couple inches. Bring to a simmer and cook about 1 hour until soup is thick and peas have almost disintegrated but not quite. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Remove ham hock and let cool. Pull meat from ham hock bone and shred. Garnish with ham and pepper.

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP WITH HAM HOCKS AND CREME FRAICHE

Steps:

• Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once hot, add the onions, bell peppers and celery to the pan and cook until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the ham hocks and peas, and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the ham hocks and peas are tender, about 3 hours. Remove the ham hocks from the soup and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the skin and bones. Discard skin and bones and return the meat to the pot, along with the Essence, salt, and pepper. Return the soup to a boil, then serve, with each bowl of soup garnished with 1 tablespoon of creme fraiche and chopped chives.
• Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
• Recipe from "New New Orleans Cooking", by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch, published by William Morrow, 1993.