A delicious soup made with black eyed peas, yellow split peas, and leeks, topped with pomegranate seeds and pistachios! Perfect for New Years!
There is a tradition of eating black-eyed peas on New Years for luck in the coming year. I first heard about this when I bought some black eyed peas from Rancho Gordo (which always has their Super Lucky 2023 Black Eyed Peas, for each year), but it also came up a lot on a Facebook page I am part of called Vegan Beans.
I did a bit of research of how the tradition evolved and found it has its origins in the American Civil War.
What I love about this dish are the contrasts, an important part of making food interesting, both visually and in the mouth feel. The al dente black eyed peas provide a texture contrast to the mushiness of the split peas. The toppings provide a contrast to the color of the split peas. It isn't fair that everything is ganging up on the split peas! Oh well!
I use Al Wadi brand pomegranate molasses as it has no added sugars.I get it from Olive Nation.
Related
Looking for recipes for more soups? Check out these!
- Potato, Leek, Sorrel Soup
- Split Pea and Broccoli Soup With Peruvian Pearl Peppers
- Bean, Corn, Avocado Chowder
- Lentil Soup With Miso
Recipe
Leek/Pea Soup with Pistachio and Pomegranate
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot optional, if want done more quickly
- 1 medium saucepan optional, if not using Instant Pot
- 1 large soup pot optional, if not using Instant Pot
Ingredients
- ¾ cup black eyed peas
- 1 ¼ cup split peas yellow
- 6 medium leeks can use into the pale green bit, but not the tough leaves
- 4 cups pot liquor reserved from cooking the beans, topped off with water if not enough
- 2 cups water or broth
- pistachios dry roasted, chopped to desired size
- pomegranate molasses
- pomegranate seeds optional
Instructions
- Soak the black eyed peas at least 3 hours before cooking. If you can, soak them overnight. Soak the split peas at least 3 hours before cooking, though you needn't soak if you don't want to.
- Rinse the black eyed peas and add to a saucepan. Add about 5 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook until just tender, about 45 minutes. You want them to be al dente to provide a small bit of crunch.
- While the black eyed peas are cooking, rinse and pick over the split peas. When the black eyed peas are done, reserve 4 cups of the pot liquor from the black eyed peas. If there is less than 4 cups, add water to bring to the needed amount.
- Chop off the tough leaves from the leeks and chop off the root section. Cut the tender part of the leek in 1 inch thick discs, then slice the disc in half, and then chop. Separate to confirm no dirt is in the chopped leeks.
- Saute the leeks in a small amount of olive oil until brown, about 10 minutes. If cooking the split peas in an Instant Pot, cook the leeks on Saute Mode in the IP. If cooking the split peas on the stove top, brown the leeks in the pan that you will cook the peas in.
- Add the split peas, the pot liquor and water (or broth) to the pot with the sautéed leeks. If cooking the peas in an Instant Pot, set the IP to high pressure and set the timer for 15 minutes. Do an instant release when the timer goes off. If cooking on the stove, bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Cook until the split peas are at the desired texture. Cooking on the stove can take up to 1 hour if the split peas were not soaked.
- Add the black eyed peas to the soup. Add water if you want the soup thinner. Mix well. Heat until at the desire temperature.
- Ladle the soup into the bowls. Sprinkle the top of the soup with pistachios and pomegranate seeds, if used. Swirl the top with pomegranate molasses.
- Enjoy!
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