Black-eyed Peas

I’m not a superstitious person by nature, but I do think the tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck is kind of fun. Plus, I love black-eyed peas, so I’m always looking for a good reason to serve them. In celebration of 2012, here’s how I like to cook my peas!

Ingredients

  1. 1 bag of dried black-eyed peas (I get just the kind of average-sized bag at HEB… I don’t really know how big it is… this recipe, though, doesn’t need you to be exact on how many peas you have!)
  2. A pot of water, plus four cups
  3. 1/2+ tsp black pepper
  4. ~1 cup cubed ham (pre-cooked)
  5. 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (if you really want to kick it up a notch, add a second jalapeno. The first doesn’t add any heat but does give a nice flavor; a second jalapeno adds a bit of a kick.)

Directions

  1. Rinse your peas in a colander and get any rocks, bad peas, etc. out of the mix.
  2. Dump peas into a pot and cover with water so that the peas are fully submerged and there are about two inches of water on top of them. Put the lid on the pot.
  3. Bring the water to a boil, let boil for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat. Keep the peas covered for an hour to an hour and a half.
  4. Drain the water from the peas and place them in your crock pot.
  5. Add four cups of water, the pepper, the ham, and the chopped jalapeno to the crock pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours and enjoy!