“Want me to read your fortune!? A bright future! A happy future!”
—Cait Sith, FFVII
This hearty soup is traditionally reputed to bring luck in the new year.
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 medium onion or 2 small onions, peeled and diced (about 1½ cups)
- 3 large carrots or 6 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped (about 1½ cups)
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 14-oz. can of diced tomatoes
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 1 lb. dried black-eyed peas
- 16 cups vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 lb. greens, cleaned and chopped (beet greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, kale, or spinach are all good choices)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Heat butter and oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 10 minutes, covered. Stir frequently and reduce heat if the onions are browning too quickly. Add carrots and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
Stir in curry powder and continue cooking for an additional minute. Add tomatoes and salt and bring to a boil. Stir in black-eyed peas. Add chicken broth and bay leaf and return to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until black-eyed peas are very tender, about 3 hours. Stir in greens, cover, and continue to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.
Remove from heat, stir in vinegar and pepper, and serve.
Makes about 13 heaping 1-cup servings. Per serving: 192 calories, 5.6 g. fat, 1.6 g. saturated fat, 0.5 g. poly. fat, 2 g. mono. fat, 4.9 mg. cholesterol, 1231.4 mg. sodium (this will be less if you use homemade chicken stock instead of storebought broth), 431.7 mg. potassium, 27.1 g. carbohydrates, 7.8 g. fiber, 9.8 g. protein, vitamin A 34%, vitamin C 20%, calcium 11%, iron 20%
