Why this recipe works southern tradition holds that if, on New Year’s Day, you eat a plate of collards and black-eyed peas all stewed up with tomatoes, spices, and a hambone, you will experience greater wealth and prosperity in the coming year. To get a jump on acquiring said prosperity, we decided to speed up this one-pot dish a little bit. We swapped the more time-consuming dried legumes for a couple of convenient cans of black eyed peas, and gave the collards a 15-minute head start on the stove before adding the peas. We also relied on smoky bacon and savory chicken broth to quickly build a meaty backbone of flavor. For maximum good luck, be careful not to crush those black-eyed peas stir them gently.
SERVES: 6 to 8
TOTAL TIME: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
- 6 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 1 onion, halved and sliced thin
- 1¼ teaspoons salt
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1½ cups chicken broth
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 pound collard greens, stemmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 (15-ounce) cans
- black-eyed peas, rinsed
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cook bacon in Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel–lined plate; set aside.
- Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Add onion and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, pepper, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in broth and tomatoes and their juice and bring to boil. Add collard greens, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until greens are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add black-eyed peas and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until greens are silky and completely tender, about 15 minutes. Uncover, increase heat to medium-high, and cook until liquid is reduced by one quarter, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, sugar, and reserved bacon. Serve.
