Chipotle and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Double Cilantro

Mention black-eyed peas, and most people think of Hopping John, the southern U.S. dish that combines black-eyed peas, ham, and collard greens. If I hadn't made Hopping John Soup a few years ago, and realized how much I like the taste of black-eyed peas, I might not have tried making this soup. That would have been just sad, because I absolutely loved this recipe, (which I did change a tiny bit, mostly to indulge my love for extra lime and cilantro.) The brilliant idea of combining black-eyed peas with Latin flavors comes from a brand new cookbook called Simply Delicioso. I confess I'd never heard of Food Network personality Ingrid Hoffman until the publisher asked if I'd like to take a look at this book. Just for the record, I never write about cookbooks unless it turns out to be a book I'm wowed by which I'd definitely buy myself. I was very impressed by this book, just full of delicious-sounding recipes that fit perfectly with my "use interesting ingredients but simple preparation methods" style of cooking.

People who are regular readers probably noticed the "double cilantro" in the recipe title, but despite the fact that I used extra cilantro here, it's really the black-eyed peas that make this soup interesting. Black-eyed peas (also called cowpeas) are legumes, a category which includes beans, peas, and lentils, and all legumes are highly nutritious. Black-eyed peas are often eaten for New Year's, and they're considered to be a lucky food, with the peas symbolizing coins. In U.S. grocery stores they can often be found frozen or canned, although it's easy enough to cook the dried beans which don't require pre-soaking. I don't know if black-eyed peas are popular at all in Spain, but I'm hoping the latin influence in this recipe will still meet with the approval of Zorra from Kochtopf, host for this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. Now keep reading for the recipe for this wonderful soup, plus more black-eyed pea ideas from other bloggers after the recipe.

Chipotle and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Double Cilantro
(Makes 4 servings but can easily be doubled, recipe adapted slightly from Simply Delicioso by Ingrid Hoffman.)

Ingredients:
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary (I used my frozen rosemary)
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme (I used my frozen thyme.)
1 pkg (16 oz.) frozen black-eyed peas
6 cups chicken stock or 4 cans chicken broth (I used homemade chicken stock)
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2-3 T fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder (or less, also can use a finely chopped chipotle chile pepper from a can)
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
sour cream or plain yogurt for serving

Instructions:

Heat oil in heavy soup pot, add onion, and saute over medium high heat until onion starts to soften, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more, then add fresh or dried rosemary and thyme and cook 2-3 minutes more.

Add frozen black-eyed peas and chicken stock, let come to a boil, then reduce heat to a very low simmer and cook 40-60 minutes, or until black-eyed peas are quite softened. Stir in chopped cilantro and chipotle chile powder or chopped chipotle pepper, then remove soup from heat.

Use a food process, blender, or immersion blender to puree soup, being very careful with the hot liquid. (I used my Braun Immersion Blender to puree the soup right in the pot, a method I highly recommend if you have one of these handy gadgets.)

When soup is pureed, reheat it to a very slight simmer. Stir in lime juice and season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper. (I didn't use any salt.) Serve hot with sour cream or plain yogurt if desired, and provide extra chopped cilantro to garnish each serving of soup.

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South Beach Suggestions:

Soup with legumes or beans are approved for any phase of the South Beach Diet, although with soup like this where beans are the only main ingredient I would probably eat it for phase two or three.

More Tasty Ideas for Black-Eyed Peas:
(Recipes from other blogs may not always be South Beach Diet friendly, check ingredients.)
Hopping John Soup
Spicy Black-Eyed Peas and Collard Greens from Gluten-Free Bay
Fennel-Scented Black-Eyed Peas and Wild Greens from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska
Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Pork Skin from Rubber Slippers in Italy
Black-Eyed Pea Soup from A Lucid Spoonful
Herby Black-Eyed Pea from Almost Turkish Recipes
Black-Eyed Pea Stew from For the Love of Food
Sweet Potato and Black-Eyed Peas Soup from Daily Musings
Creole Black-Eyed Peas from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
New Year's Day Black-Eyed Peas from Pink of Perfection

More Legume Recipes:
For even more recipes featuring beans, peas, and lentils, check the round-up of My Legume Love Affair at The Well Seasoned Cook.