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Slow Cooker (or not) Black-Eyed Pea Soup
with pancetta / collard greens / cornbread

Active: 60 Total: 660

We love the cozy combination of flavors in this soup, which we first featured in 2021. It uses diced pancetta (or ham hock) to build a rich, hearty stock as it cooks.
Smarts #1: Dried beans will take longer to cook the longer they have been sitting on the shelf. If you suspect yours have been sitting around for a bit, add an extra hour to the slow cooker time or an extra 10 to 15 minutes to the stovetop time to be sure they fully soften.
Smarts #2: This soup features rustic, earthy ingredients. Season the soup to taste so that all of the flavors shine.
Cooking methods: This recipe includes instructions for using the slow cooker or stovetop. 

Tags
Proteins
Cuisines

Ingredients

Metric
Servings:
4
Black-Eyed Pea Soup:
  • Yams - 12 oz , peeled and cubed (sub sweet potatoes)
  • Collard greens - 5 leaves , stems discarded, leaves finely chopped
  • Onions, medium - 1 , diced
  • Jalapenos - 2 , diced (remove seeds for less heat)
  • Garlic - 4 cloves , chopped
  • Pancetta - 5 oz , chopped (look for pre-chopped to save time; sub a small ham hock if available)
  • Black-eyed peas, dried - 3/4 cup (sub canned black beans, but use double the amount listed )
  • Stock, any low-sodium type - 6 cups
  • Bay leaves - 2
  • Lemon juice - 1 Tbsp
Cornmeal Muffins:
  • Buttermilk, low-fat - 1/2 cup
  • Butter - 6 Tbsp , plus more for serving
  • Eggs - 1
  • Cornmeal - 1/2 cup
  • Flour, all-purpose - 1/2 cup
  • Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
  • Salt - 1/4 tsp

Choose Cooking Method

Prep

  1. Yams / Collard greens / Onions / Jalapenos / Garlic / Pancetta - Prep as directed. Store yams and collard greens in their own separate containers. Combine onions, jalapenos, and garlic in one container. Store pancetta in another container. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)

  2. Beans (if using dried; skip if using canned) - Rinse beans well and pick through them to discard any dirt or pebbles.

  3. Slow cook soup - In the bowl of a slow cooker, combine yams, collard greens, onions, jalapenos, garlic, pancetta (or ham hock), beans, stock, and bay leaves. Cook until beans are tender, 10 to 12 hours on low or 6 to 7 hours on high.

  4. Buttermilk - Set out at room temperature about 20 minutes before cooking.

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Make

  1. When soup is nearly finished cooking, heat oven to 350F / 177C.

  2. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or rub with some cooking oil.

  3. Make cornmeal muffins by melting butter in the microwave. In a small bowl whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs.

  4. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just until combined (don’t overmix).

  5. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin (this should make about 5 muffins for 4 servings; adjust if customizing). Bake until set in the middle and light golden brown on the edges, ~15 minutes.

  6. When soup is finished cooking, give it a good stir. (If you used ham hock, remove it from the soup and use a fork to remove any meat off the bone. Stir the meat back into the soup.)

  7. Stir lemon juice into soup and season to taste with some salt and pepper. Remove and discard bay leaves.

  8. Serve soup with cornmeal muffins on the side. Spread cornmeal muffins with some butter if you’d like. Enjoy!

Prep

  1. Yams / Collard greens / Onions / Jalapenos / Garlic / Pancetta - Prep as directed. Store yams and collard greens in their own separate containers. Combine onions, jalapenos, and garlic in one container. Store pancetta in another container. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)

  2. Beans (if using dried; skip if using canned) - Rinse beans well and pick through them to discard any dirt or pebbles.

  3. Buttermilk - Set out at room temperature about 20 minutes before cooking.

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Make

  1. Heat a Dutch oven with some cooking oil over medium heat. Add pancetta (or ham hock) and sear on all sides until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes total. If using pancetta, leave it in the pan (if using ham hock, set it aside).

  2. If the pan looks dry, add some cooking oil. Add onions, jalapenos, and garlic with some salt and saute until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

  3. Add yams, collard greens, beans, stock, and bay leaves (and ham hock if it was removed). Bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until beans are tender, 60 to 90 minutes. (Check the soup regularly as it cooks, adding water if the stock reduces too much and no longer covers the ingredients. Reduce heat as needed to be sure it stays at a very low simmer.)

  4. While soup simmers, heat oven to 350F / 177C.

  5. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or rub with some cooking oil.

  6. Make cornmeal muffins by melting butter in the microwave. In a small bowl whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, and eggs.

  7. In a larger mixing bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir just until combined (don’t overmix).

  8. Pour batter into prepared muffin tin (this should make about 5 muffins for 4 servings; adjust if customizing). Bake until set in the middle and light golden brown on the edges, ~15 minutes.

  9. When soup is finished cooking, give it a good stir. (If you used ham hock, remove it from the soup and use a fork to remove any meat off the bone. Stir the meat back into the soup.)

  10. Stir lemon juice into soup and season to taste with some salt and pepper. Remove and discard bay leaves.

  11. Serve soup with cornmeal muffins on the side. Spread cornmeal muffins with some butter if you’d like. Enjoy!


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