If you’re hoping for a wealth of good luck and prosperity in 2024, Southern tradition advises you to kick off the New Year by eating your peas — black-eyed peas — at least 365 of them, to be exact. From grand gala gourmet dinners to small casual gatherings with friends and family, these flavorful legumes are said to be the first food you should eat on New Year’s Day to ensure a successful year ahead. And while you’re at it, stir up a pot of greens — collards, kale, spinach, turnip greens, chard or cabbage — widely available wintertime staples. According to folklore, the greens attract green (in the form of money). Don’t forget to season it all with pork, because in many cultures, pigs symbolize good luck — those critters look forward, never back, and one pig can feed a family throughout a tough winter. Maybe you should complete your New Year’s meal with stewed tomatoes. Tradition specifies that black-eyed peas with stewed tomatoes mean health and wealth in the New Year.
BLACK-EYED PEA WISDOM
What’s the source of all this good luck, you might ask? Most Southerners steeped in wisdom will tell you that the story dates back to the American Civil War. Black-eyed peas (field peas) were considered livestock food (likewise purple-hull peas). The peas were not considered worthy of General Sherman’s Union troops. When Union soldiers raided the Confederates’ food supplies, legend says they took everything except the peas and lesser cuts of salted pork (like hog jowls or ham hocks). The Confederates considered themselves lucky to be left with those meager supplies, and thus they survived the winter. Peas became symbolic of luck.
Black-eyed peas were also a staple of the African-American slave communities of the time, as were most other traditional New Year’s foods. Let’s face it, many of the customary New Year dishes in the South have their roots in soul food. One explanation says that black-eyed peas were an essential element of a slave’s wintertime diet, so that’s the foundation of the New Year’s menu with which they celebrated January 1, 1863, the day when the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect. From then on, black-eyed peas were always on the menu for the first day of January.
Others say that since the South has generally always been agricultural, black-eyed peas were simply a sensible food to celebrate with in the winter. Not many crops grew during the cold months, but black-eyed peas were plentiful, held up well and were cheap, so they just made sense.
Black-eyed peas are actually not peas at all, but rather a variety of bean related to the cowpea and categorized as legumes, having both edible seeds and pods. According to the Library of Congress, they have been cultivated in China and India since prehistoric times and were eaten by the ancient Greeks and Romans. During the time of the Pharaohs in Egypt, it was believed that eating a meager food like black-eyed peas showed humility before the Gods, and blessings would follow. Early records from 1674 indicate that black-eyed peas were transported from West Africa to the West Indies by slaves. Subsequently, the peas reached the Low Country coastal regions of the Carolinas and Georgia more than 300 years ago, also via the slave trade.
How do you serve perfect peas? Some people believe you should cook them with a shiny new dime or penny, or add one to the pot before serving. The person who receives the coin in their portion will be extra lucky. Some say you should eat exactly 365 peas on New Year’s Day. If you eat any less, you’ll only be lucky for that many days. Conversely, if you eat any more than 365 peas, it turns those extra days into bad luck. Others say you should leave one pea on your plate, to share your luck with someone else (a humble gesture that peas seem to represent). But some believe that if you don’t eat every pea on your plate, your luck will be bad. It’s also said that if you eat only peas and skip the side dishes, the luck won’t stick. Apparently, they all work together or not at all — this sounds like conspiracy to get you to eat a balanced dinner.
Whether you choose to follow the Southern New Year’s tradition or not, black-eyed peas are a good source of nutrition. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, black-eyed peas are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are low in sodium. They are high in potassium, iron, and fiber. A one-half cup serving counts as one ounce of lean meat according to the official Food Guide Pyramid.
Bring on the Green
Want to attract riches into your bank account? Here in the South, collard greens (and cornbread), bring the money on New Year’s Day. The combination of black-eyed peas and collards is called Hoppin’ John, a traditional New Year’s dish. But it’s actually cabbage that is King Green around most of the world for New Year’s meals. Cabbage is a late crop and would be available this time of year. Collard greens, kale, spinach, turnip greens and chard are late crops too, and they are plentiful and grown in the South. Greens represent “green” paper money in New Year’s tradition. Cabbage was eaten by everyone from Caesar to the Egyptians to aid in digestion and for nutrition, and later for the prevention of scurvy. Aristotle, the philosopher, ate cabbage before drinking alcohol to keep the wine from “fuddling his prudent academic head.” Eating collard greens isn’t too far off from Caesar and Aristotle. The ancient cabbage those guys ate was probably closer to kale than our modern cabbage.
Collard greens (or any greens) sub for cabbage in the South because that’s what we grow here in the late fall. The Southern tradition: Each bite of greens you eat is worth $1,000 in the upcoming year. Cornbread represents pocket money. It’s another soul food we eat on New Year’s Day. The tradition stems from the color of the bread. Its color represents “gold” or “coin” money. Plus, it naturally pairs well with collard greens, peas and pork.
Pork for Good Luck
Again, dating back to the Civil War, Sherman’s troops left behind the lesser cuts of cured pork — specifically jowls, hocks and feet. They were also staples of a typical slave’s diet. The jowl is the “cheek” of the hog. It tastes and cooks similar to thick cut bacon, and is often used to season beans and peas, or fried and eaten like bacon. The ham hock, or pork knuckle, is the joint between the leg and the foot of the pig. It is the portion of the leg that is neither part of the ham proper nor the ankle or foot, but rather the extreme shank end of the leg bone.
Pork products were traditionally eaten in the South to ensure health, prosperity and progress. Southerners aren’t the only ones who eat pork on New Year’s Day. All over the world, people use marzipan pigs to decorate their tables, or partake in pig’s feet, pork sausage, roast suckling pig or pork dumplings. Hogs and pigs have long been a symbol of prosperity. Some cultures believe that the bigger pig you eat on New Year’s Day, the bigger your wallet will be in the coming year. So, the fatter is the pig, the fatter is your wallet. Spit- and pit-roasted pigs are popular New Year’s meals.
In the South, and many poor areas, pigs were considered symbolic of both health and wealth, because families could eat for the entire winter on the meat of one pig. Having pork could mean the difference between life and death in a really cold winter. Also, pigs have long symbolized progress. A pig can’t turn its head to look backwards without turning completely around, so it’s believed that pigs are always looking to the future. They fit perfectly with other New Year’s celebrations.
So, whether or not you believe in the Southern New Year legends, a January 1 pork-seasoned meal of black-eyed peas, greens, cornbread, and stewed tomatoes seems like a welcome departure from our turkey-driven holiday fare. And can’t we all use a bit of a lucky boost while sliding into 2024?
BLACK EYED PEAS WITH STEWED TOMATOES
Ingredients:
- 12 ounces fresh black-eyed peas (or 1 cup dried black-eyed peas, or 3 cups cooked black-eyed peas)
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1.5 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon No Salt Seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon chile flakes
- 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes, coarsely chopped, with juice
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1.5 cups water or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil, thinly sliced
Directions:
Begin by cooking black-eyed peas. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add peas, reduce heat, cover and simmer until almost soft. (You can simmer with a seasoning of ham hock, or a pork cut of choice.) Add a touch of salt and simmer 5 minutes more. This will take 15-30 minutes if using fresh peas, or 45-60 minutes if using dried peas. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a medium skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Once hot, add onions and sprinkle with salt. Sauté until softened, approximately 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more, careful not to let the mixture burn. Add 1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, no-salt seasoning, thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, and chile flakes. Stir to toast slightly, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, nutritional yeast and water/broth. Bring to a simmer. Once the peas are cooked through, add them to the tomato sauce. Continue to simmer for 30 minutes, until the mixture reaches a thicker consistency and the flavors meld. Add an additional 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh basil and remove from heat. Allow basil to cook for 3 minutes or so, as the dish cools.
Serve with your favorite combination of greens, cornbread, and pork, and you have a perfect good luck meal for health and prosperity in the year ahead.