Spicy Black Eyed Peas

Ingredients:

8 ounces dry Blackeye Peas (about 1 cup)
2 pieces thick cut bacon, chopped
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup diced carrot
1/3 cup diced red bell pepper
1 diced jalapeno pepper
4 cloves minced garlic
2 – 3 cups chicken broth/stock
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse and sort beans.

To 1 cup beans, add 4 cups clean cold water. Cover and allow to soak overnight, at least 8 hours.

After soaking, drain water and rinse beans.

In a large pot, saute the chopped bacon over medium heat until golden and crisp. Remove cooked bacon from pot and drain on paper towels, reserving drippings in the pot.
To the drippings, add diced onion, celery, carrot, red bell pepper and jalapeno pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Saute 5-10 minutes over medium heat until softened.
Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic and blackeye peas. Stir gently.

Raise the heat to high and and add the chicken broth slowly, just until mixture is covered with liquid. You may not need all 3 cups broth.

Bring to a gentle boil, stirring carefully as not to break up the beans.

Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer about an hour or until beans are desired tenderness. Check the beans and stir gently periodically to make sure the liquid level just covers the beans.

Season with fresh cracked black pepper and salt to taste.

Top with bacon pieces and serve piping hot with a fresh spinach salad and cornbread for extra fortune in the new year.

NOTES:

Makes about 4 cups beans. Dry Blackeye Peas need to be sorted and soaked overnight (at least 8 hours). After soaking, 1 cup Blackeye Peas will swell to about 3 cups. For extra spiciness, do not discard all seeds and membrane from jalapeno before dicing. The more seeds and membrane from the jalapeno, the spicier your beans will be. Fresh cracked black pepper added at the end of cooking process also lends spiciness.

Source: texasrecipes