Kyra’s Chicken & Black-Eyed Pea Soup Recipe

Well, if you’re African American, southern extracted, you probably cook/eat black eyed peas for good luck on New Year’s Day. I did that. But made my own peas on Jan 2 with a recipe tweeted around by my colleague Professor Mark Anthony Neal (@newblackman).

The recipe from TVOne’s Turn Up the Heat with G. Garvin mentions Patti Labelle but I was interested in the ingredients not the celeb associations of Black Eyed Pea Soup

I improvised the original recipe below and made it my own and am sharing it here with you! I didn’t have nor could even I find “Heavy Cream” (they don’t sell it in the hood here in Crown Hghts, Brooklyn) and I forgot to buy chicken stock and sausage. What I had on hand tucked away in my cabinets were coconut milk, a miso soup packet, and in the fridge, uncooked chicken strips. I nixed the shallots (they don’t sell shallots in my walking sphere of Brooklyn) and though I bought more hot sauce, I didn’t need anything other than the red chilies (which I cut up to release into the soup). 

Also I didn’t measure nuthin’. Just got the ingredients and went to town. I know I didn’t do all these measurements. I was cooking for one. 

Ingredients

½  cup white onions
¼  cup shallots  

2 carrot sticks and 1 potato
4  garlic cloves (used more like 2 big ones)

½ cup celery stalks chopped
½ ounce olive oil
1  tablespoon red chilies (chop up to release into the soup as it cooks & wash your hands after!)
½ pound unsalted butter (used 1/4 pound; to be honest I know that’s why it taste to rich but cld do less)
1  pound andouille sausage (replaced with chicken actually strips of chicken breasts)
3  tablespoon Red Rooster hot sauce 
4  cups chicken stock or 2 gallons of water (used Edward & Sons natural/instant Miso-Cup Savory Soup with Seaweed and added 3 cups of water)
1½ cups heavy cream (substituted 13.5 oz can of Goya coconut milk) 
1  pound pre- soaked black-eyed peas (did less than a cup just for me to eat with seconds, could have added more)
1  bunch of cilantro (I forgot to add this! Will do for seconds tomorrow. Add this after it’s done)
Salt to taste (if it’s too salty, add potatoes to absorb oversalted, slice thin)
Pepper to taste (shouldn’t need with the red chili pepper)

Procedure

1. Dice the celery, carrot, potatoes, and onions into small cubes.
2. Crush the garlic and cut the chicken strips into cubes
3. Next, drain water off of pre-soaked black-eyed peas. 
4. Using a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. 
5. Once the oil is hot throw in onions and chicken along with the crushed garlic. (add carrots after beans are tender)
6. While this cooks for a few minutes til chicken is 90% cooked. 
7. Continue with the soup mixture by adding the butter, salt, pepper and red chilies. 
8. Let all ingredients cook for 3-4 minutes or until mix seems ready. 
9. Next, add the beans to ingredients cook for a couple of minutes, 
10. Add miso stock and cook over low heat/simmer for about 75 minutes.
11. Add carrots and potatoes about 45 mins into low simmer.
12. Salt to taste. 
13. Add cilantro before serving

This was the best soup I have ever made or tasted. It’s a mix of Caribbean (coconut milk), Japanese (miso soup), and African American (black eyed peas) cuisines. The unsalted butter is probably what makes it so creamy and delish on top of the coconut milk. It’s healthy and tasty. Adjust to your needs for vegan or vegatarian.