Purple Hull Peas and Mustard Greens in Smoky Potlikker

Purple Hull Peas and Mustard Greens in Smoky Potlikker
Dustin Chambers for The New York Times
Total Time
1 to 3 hours, depending on ingredients
Rating
5(103)
Comments
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Southern field peas come in seemingly endless varieties, the most well known of which are black-eyed peas. For this dish, it’s worth seeking out their sister, the pink-eyed purple hull pea that April McGreger, who makes Farmer’s Daughter brand pickles and preserves Hillsborough, N.C., knew growing up. They are sold fresh in late spring through the early fall in the South, but can be found frozen. Black-eyed peas will do just fine, though. This is a bold and brothy soup with plenty of what Southerners call potlikker, flavored with ham hocks for traditionalists or smoked turkey parts for a lighter version. It is essential to serve this dish with sturdy cornbread to soak up the potlikker. Ms. McGreger likes thin and crispy cornbread.

Featured in: Field Peas, a Southern Good Luck Charm

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings, about 12 cups
  • 2tablespoons oil
  • cups finely diced yellow onion
  • 1cup finely diced celery (leaves reserved)
  • 1tablespoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1hot red chile, cut in half lengthwise
  • 2bay leaves
  • 3small sprigs of thyme
  • 1pinch of allspice
  • 2small smoked ham hocks (about 2 pounds) or 3 pounds of smoked turkey wings or a smoked turkey leg
  • pounds fresh or frozen purple hull or other field peas, or substitute 1¼ cup dried black-eyed peas (if using dry peas, soak in water for 6 hours or overnight and drain)
  • 1large bunch of mustard greens, or about 12 cups torn leaves, lightly packed to total about a pound
  • 1cup chopped tomato
  • 2tablespoons pepper vinegar, apple cider vinegar or a combination of the two
  • 1tablespoon sugar
  • teaspoons kosher salt
  • ¼teaspoon ground black pepper
  • cup thinly sliced green onions (white and green parts)
  • 2tablespoons torn celery leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

134 calories; 4 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 368 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Over medium heat, warm the oil in a large Dutch oven or other soup pot. Add the onion and celery and cook for 5 minutes, or until soft. Don’t let the vegetables brown. Stir in the garlic and cook another minute. Stir in the chile, bay leaves, thyme and allspice.

  2. Step 2

    If using ham hocks, add them along with 10 cups of water, bring to a boil and skim off any foam. Partly cover the pot with a lid and simmer for 2 hours. If using smoked turkey wings or legs, add 9 cups of water, bring to a boil and skim off any foam. Partly cover with lid and simmer for one hour.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the peas, partly cover the pot with the lid and simmer until the peas are tender. This will take about 20 minutes for fresh or frozen peas or as long as 1½ hours for peas that were dried and soaked.

  4. Step 4

    While the beans cook, wash the mustard greens in several changes of water. Taste a leaf to be certain they are not gritty. Tear the greens into bite-size pieces and discard the tough middle stem. Alternately, pre-cut, bagged mustard greens can be used.

  5. Step 5

    Remove the hocks or wings to a platter and cool. Take the meat off the bone, chop and add to the pot. Discard any skin and connective tissue.

  6. Step 6

    Add the shredded mustard greens and tomatoes to the pot and simmer just until the greens are wilted, or about 10 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper and green onions. Taste and adjust seasoning. Ladle into warm, shallow bowls and scatter a few celery leaves on top. Serve with cornbread and pass pepper vinegar or hot sauce at the table.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
103 user ratings
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Comments

Regarding sourcing, I order dried field, crowder and lady cream peas from Camellia Brand in New Orleans . . .

(http://www.camelliabrand.com/

It's the brand my family always used--much better than the random black eyed peas from Stop and Shop. Free delivery for orders of $25. I haven't found a source for fresh peas, the kind my daddy used to buy off the back of farmers' trucks in season. So delicious.

No one in the South spells pot liquor phonetically!

This sounds delicious. The aunts and grandmothers who taught me to cook in Texas fifty years ago would certainly agree on the superior flavor of purple hull peas They would also approve of the touches of vinegar and sugar, "secrets" they shared with me. However, they would be horrified at the waste of cutting out the midrib of mustard greens and wonder how anyone could imagine that ten minutes of braising could add any depth of mustard flavor to the pot liquor!

I love this recipe! I kept within the spirit of this recipe, but swapped out many of the ingredients, due to what I had available. (Chinese Mustard vs Sweet Mustard, sausage vs smoked turkey, subbed in Ras El Hanout (Middle Eastern) spice blend, etc) which yielded some tasty and Wonderful results! The pot likker/liquor was amazing! Thanks for the inspiration!!!

This was delicious-I followed the recipe as written except I threw in a couple of hot peppers, including some sashimi, fresh from the garden, plus I used turnip greens I bought in error. Here’s where my attempt went askew: I used fresh cream peas (they were marked as fresh, and they definitely were fresh, not dried) but it took forever to get them soft -1 1/2 hours! Did anyone else have this happen with fresh peas? Any explanation of why it took so long for the peas to soften?

I would guess they were semi-dry, but it is also true that the smaller varieties (read:denser) of field peas do take longer to soften. I’ve never had a truly fresh pea take 1 1/2 though.

This is one of the best dishes we make. We buy red pea beans from Anson Mills. Well worth it!

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