Black Eyed Pea and Turkey Soup with Cornbread

Black Eyed Peas with Turkey Soup and Cornbread

My mother would say this is a good recipe to cook up at New Years.  In the south, Black Eyed Peas are typically eaten for good luck at the beginning of a new year.  I don’t recall ever being at my southern grandparents home for the new year, but I do remember my grandfather baking cornbread. There is a strong line of Cherokee on my mother’s side which influenced my grandparents attitude toward cornbread. Grandpa used to bake it in a cast iron skillet for each meal and set it straight on the table to serve it.  I love to eat mine with honey and butter no matter which dish it’s served with. The soup, like most soups, is even better the second day.

You can substitute vegetable broth for the turkey for a vegan version of this soup.

Black Eyed Pea and Turkey Soup:

Rinse two cups of Black Eyed Peas and place in large bowl. Cover with cold water and allow to soak overnight. Stock: Turkey carcass plus 1 1/2 cups turkey meat reserved 1 carrot 1 stalk celery 1 bay leaf

Place carcass in large stockpot.  Chop carrot and celery into large chunks and add them and the bay leaf to the pot.  Cover with water and simmer for an hour. Do not allow water to come to a hard boil.

Pour stock through a strainer into a large bowl.  Discard the carcass and vegetables. Pour water off the peas and rinse again. Pour the peas into the stockpot and add the turkey stock back to the pot. Bring to a boil and then turn heat down to medium low.

Soup:

1. 1 large red onion
2. 2 ears of corn
3. 1 red bell pepper
4. 1 TBls. olive oil
5. 1 tsp chili powder
6. 2 tsp salt
7.  28 oz. diced tomatoes in juices
8. 1 cup red wine
9. 2 tsp herbs de Provence
10. 1 1/2 cups reserved turkey meat

Cut the corn off the ears, chop onion and bell pepper into fine dice.  Warm olive oil over medium heat and saute corn and diced vegetables for 2-3 minutes.

Add chili powder and salt and stir to coat veggies. Warm the chili powder by cooking for another minute and then pour mixture into the stockpot with the peas.

Allow peas to cook for 1 1/2 hours, adding more water as necessary to keep the peas covered.

Once peas are tender, add red wine, tomatoes, reserved turkey meat, and herbs.  Allow soup to continue cooking on low to meld flavors while you make the cornbread.

This cornbread recipe is adapted from the one cookbook my mother used all through my childhood. Better Homes and Gardens moved over 3000 miles and 50+ years with her. If you use the finely ground cornmeal, the cornbread will have a cake like consistency, perfect with butter and honey. If you choose the medium grind it will be more crumbly and will fall and float nicely into little boats when eaten over your soup.

Cornbread:

Dry Ingredients:

1. 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2. 2 cups medium or fine ground cornmeal
3. 1/4 cup sugar or coconut sugar
4. 2 Tbls. baking powder
5. 2 tsp. salt

Wet Ingredients:

1. 2 eggs lightly beaten
2. 2 cups milk
3. 2/3 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
4. 1/2 can corn (optional)

Whisk all dry ingredients together in one large bowl.  Use one small bowl for all the wet ingredients except for the corn.  Whisk them together.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and combine until everything is moistened.  *Add the corn and stir gently if using. Pour into a buttered 9″ x 13″ pan.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.