Collard Green & Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Submitted by CJAY8248

"This looks like a great soup for those cold winter days that will soon be here. I found this recipe on AOL."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 14
• Yields: 1 potful soup
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves (4 sliced and 1 whole)
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 5 cups chopped collard greens (about 1 bunch) or 5 cups kale leaves, tough stems removed (about 1 bunch)
• 1 (15 ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed
• 6 1⁄2 inch-thick slices baguette, preferably whole-grain, cut on the diagonal
• 6 tablespoons shredded gruyere or 6 tablespoons swiss cheese
• 2 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped

directions

1. Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Add sliced garlic, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Increase heat to high and add broth, tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Stir in collard greens (or kale), reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, 5-10 minutes. Discard the thyme sprig. Stir in black-eyed peas; remove from the heat and cover.
2. Position rack in upper third of oven; preheat broiler.
3. Place baguette slices on a baking sheet and broil until lightly toasted, 2 to 4 minutes. Rub each bread slice with the remaining garlic clove. (Discard garlic). Turn the slices over and top with cheese. Broil until the cheese is melted, 1 to 3 minutes. Serve the soup topped with the cheese toasts and bacon.

Reviews

[Chef Jantzens Mom]

I made this soup as an alternative to the traditional way of southern New Years Day cuisine experiment. It was pretty good the first day but the SECOND day it was awesome. I guess the flavors had time to party in the pot. I did not use a carrot as I did not have any and I substituded dried thyme instead of a fresh sprig and Kale instead of Collard Greens (Collards are not my favorite). Do take it easy on the red pepper flakes as a little goes a long way. I served mine with corn muffins instead of the baguette bread. Thanks for a GREAT alternative recipe and all in one dish. Bon Appetit!

 

[hungryone]

This soup is perfect just the way it is. My husband says the left overs are even better. Instead of the cheesy baguette, I made corn muffins to serve along side. Will definately add this to my winter soup collection.