New Year’s Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea Dip

It’s almost time to ring in the new year and part of that includes some hearty, warm, delicious, and must-have foods in my household on New Years Day. One of these (of course) is black-eyed peas to bring us luck in the new year! I personally love black-eyed peas. My husband not so much. But ever since I made this recipe a few years ago, he can’t wait to eat them up! So now to kick off every new year, I make this black-eyed pea dip along with collard greens and cornbread to serve on New Years Day.

Here in the South, we are all about our traditions and superstitions and New Year’s food is no exception! Generally, the tradition is that eating black-eyed peas, collard greens, and cornbread on New Year’s Day will bring you good luck and good fortune in the coming year.

The black-eyed peas are said to represent coins or wealth. They are also known to bring good luck. This tradition dates back to the Civil War days when the Northern troops raided the Southern food supplies and black-eyed peas were one of the only edible staples left behind…they considered them animal feed if you can imagine that! So black-eyed peas became a beloved dish on the southern table because Southerners felt “lucky” that this wonderful food was left behind that helped them get through the winter. And when President Lincoln ordered emancipation after the war on New Year’s Day, eating black-eyed peas became a tradition every January 1.

Along with black-eyed peas on New Years Day, Southerners also traditionally eat collard greens, which symbolize green or paper money, and cornbread, symbolizing gold coins in hopes of bringing more their way in the coming year.

I’m not sure I believe these superstitions, but a little extra luck never hurt anything, and at the very least it’s all delicious!

Here’s what you’ll need to make this warm, slightly spicy dip:

• 2 cans of black-eyed peas with liquid
• 16 oz. jar of chunky picante sauce with preferred spice level
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 2 tsps. or cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 stick of butter
• Salt, pepper, cajun spice seasoning, or hot sauce

Start by chopping up the onion, bell pepper, and celery, and mincing the garlic if necessary (I usually buy already minced in a jar for convenience.)

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Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic until softened.

Add the black-eyed peas including the liquid and the picante sauce.

Add the seasonings to taste. I use salt, pepper, and either Tony Cachere’s or Slap Ya Mama cajun seasoning for a little more kick. You can also use Tabasco or other hot sauce.

Bring it to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.

When the desired thickness has been reached, remove from heat and let sit for ten minutes before serving.

This twist on regular old black-eyed peas really hits the spot on a cold January day with either corn chips or cornbread!

I wish you much good luck and good fortune in this coming year…Happy New Year!!

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