WORLD's BEST Black Eyed Peas Sausage Soup

 OH BOY SOUP!!!

But not just any soup, this is that traditional New Year's Day "Good Luck" Soup.  For million's, it would be unthinkable not to celebrate the New Year without Black Eyed Peas in some form.  This is without a doubt, the world's best way to have good luck throughout the year.

But, it is also good enough to have anytime of the year.  This is good, not just a gimmick good, I mean really, "Talk about Good" good.

Plenty of sausage for the meat lovers, plenty of vegetables for the health conscious, plenty of color (traditional Collared Greens (can use spinach or even Kale) and the high protein of a full pound of Black Eyed Peas.  Delieicous in so many ways.

You can see in the photos, I added a pan of Mississippi Corn Bread as a side.  See yesterday's post for that easy to follow recipe.  This specialty Corn Bread is indeed the perfect side dish for this soup.  Sturdy enough to pour the soup over without disintegrating into corn dust and with plenty of flavors to compete with the loaded flavors of this BEST EVER BLACK EYED PEAS SOUP!

Keep scrolling down for this easy to follow recipe.

This does call for a couple of specialty items to pull this off with style.  You can certainly make do with any old soup pot, but if you make a lot of soups and stews you will grow to love a Dutch Oven.  Look for one that is Ceramic lined for easy cleaning, HEAVY for even heating and stylish, able to go from oven to table with flair.

And I finally splurged this year for a presentation Crock Pot that travels well... Like these...

 

IK... Good Luck to all and Happy New Year... Keep scrolling down, the recipe follows.

 OK... Here's what I did...

Black Eyed Peas
Sausage Soup

Ingredients

• 1 Pound Black Eyed Peas Soup
• 4 quarts Salted Water to soak the peas overnight
• 1 Pound Italian Sausage, Browned...  bulk sausage.  If you have links, remove casing
• 2 Medium Onions, diced
• 6 Stalks Celery, cut into dime size 1/4 inch slices
• 1 Head of Fennel, sliced thin then chopped into 1 imch pieces
• 4 Cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 TBS Herbes de Provance
• 1 TBS each Salt and Pepper
• 2 TBS Cajun Spices
• 1 Gallon Chicken Stock
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1 Bunch Collared Greens, cut into ribbons
• 1 stick Butter (8 TBS)
• 8 TBS Flour

Cooking Directions

1. Place beans in a large bowl and cover with 3 quarts of water. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt and set aside at room temperature overnight. (See note above)
2. In a large heavy Dutch Oven Add sausage and cook, breaking it up with a wooden spoon or potato masher until starting to brown, about 8 minutes total. Add onion, Fennel and celery and Saute, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, and Seasonings (Savory, Herbes de Provence), Spicy (Cajun Spice), Salt and pepper, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken stock and heat to simmer.
3. Drain and rinse beans, then add to simmering pot.  Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are fully softened, about 1 hour. 
4. Make a thickening Roux.  In a heavy bottomed Saute pan, Melt the butter over medium low heat.  Add the flour and stir to mix.  Continue stirring non stop for about 5 minutes until the roux just starts to darken and there is a hint of a nutty aroma.  Be careful to not burn the roux.  It is important to stir this constantly.
5. Add the roux to the pot, as well as the Parmesan cheese, stir to mix.  
6. Add the slivered Collared greens.
7. Transfer to a Crock Pot Slow cooler and provide a delicious hot soup throughout the day...
   Good Luck to all
   Happy New Year and of course... ENJOY!