Cooks Recipes | Black-Eyed Pea Soup Recipe

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

1 pound ham hocks 1 cup chopped onion 2 tablespoons seeded and chopped jalapeño (see note) 2 cups seeded and chopped tomatoes 1 garlic clove, crushed 1/4 teaspoon pepper 3 teaspoons beef base or bouillon granules 5 (15-ounce) cans black eyed peas 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

In a large kettle, simmer ham hocks covered in water for 1 1/2 hours. Drain; reserving the liquid. Chill the liquid, skim fat off the liquid. Remove the meat from the bones.
In a skillet, saute the chopped meat with chopped onion, chopped jalapeno, chopped tomatoes, crushed garlic clove, and pepper. Add the skimmed liquid (add water if necessary to make total of 6 cups), beef base, black eyed peas (drained and rinsed), and chopped cilantro. Heat through.

Makes 10 servings.

Note: Working with jalapeños or other chiles: Capsaicin is the ingredient in chiles that causes the burning sensation associated with fresh peppers. It's a good idea to use rubber gloves when handling fresh chiles. (Disposable surgical gloves, available at most drugstores, work best for this.) If you choose not to use gloves, be extremely careful not to touch any part of your body, especially your eyes. After you've finished handling the chiles, wash your knife and cutting board with hot soapy water to ensure that there is no carry-over to other foods that may come in contact with the peppers.