Thyme
My grandmother never let New Year’s Day pass without a pot of peas on the stove, and she was particular about which peas. Not black eyed peas, though plenty of her neighbors swore by those. Hers were green eyed peas, a cousin to the black eyed pea that you don’t see much outside of certain pockets of the South, paler and a little sweeter, and she would not be talked out of them no matter how many people insisted black eyed peas were the only luck-bringing legume that counted.
I didn’t think much about why we ate them every January 1st until I was older, when my mother explained it the way it had been explained to her: peas for coins, greens for dollars, and a good smoked ham hock in the pot for the kind of luck that actually fills your stomach while you’re waiting on the rest of it to show up. Whether or not I believe a bowl of soup can change the shape of a year, I have made this every New Year’s Day since Patrick and I got married, because some traditions earn their place by being delicious regardless of what they’re supposed to bring you.
The ham hock is what makes this soup what it is. Smoked, deeply savory, simmered low for hours until the meat falls away from the bone on its own and the broth turns rich and a little cloudy in the best way. The peas soften into the broth, the greens wilt down into something silky, and by the time it’s ready the whole house smells like the kind of meal that asks you to slow down and actually sit at the table for it.
We usually eat this on the couch anyway, in front of whatever bowl game is on, because old habits and new traditions don’t always have to fight each other.
Smoked Ham Hock and Green Eyed Pea Soup
Ingredients
- 2 smoked ham hocks
- 1 pound dried green eyed peas (or black eyed peas), soaked overnight
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups chicken broth, plus water as needed
- 2 cups chopped collard greens or mustard greens
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Hot sauce and cornbread for serving
Directions
- In a large pot, combine the ham hocks, soaked peas, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, broth, and bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, until the peas are tender and the meat pulls easily from the bone.
- Remove the ham hocks, pull the meat from the bones, discard the skin and bones, and return the meat to the pot.
- Stir in the greens and cayenne, and simmer for another 15 minutes until the greens are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf.
- Serve hot with hot sauce and a wedge of cornbread on the side.