Black-eyed Pea, Sausage and Sauerkraut Soup

Here’s a delicious soup that incorporates black-eyed peas, a traditional New Year’s ingredient, with smoked sausage and fermented sauerkraut. It yields a rich, smoky soup with just the right amount of tang.

I recommend soaking and cooking your own dried beans, as the “pot liquor” the beans are cooked in adds a lot of flavor and thickness to the broth. If you can’t do this, rinse canned beans and add extra broth.

Makes 6 to 8 servings 1 tablespoon olive oil 1⁄2 large onion, diced 1 rib celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1⁄4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

3 cups cooked black-eyed peas with 3 cups “pot liquor” (see note)

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 pound smoked sausage, sliced

1 large potato, diced Salt to taste

1 cup sauerkraut (preferably naturally fermented; I like Bubbies)

Optional garnishes: pumpernickel croutons or shredded Comté cheese

In a 4-quart stockpot, warm olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add celery and cook until both are soft. Add garlic, thyme and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes. Add black-eyed peas and their cooking liquid, broth, sausage and potato. Bring everything to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Taste and see if additional salt is needed. Cover and cook 15 to 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

Remove from heat and stir in sauerkraut. Taste again for salt. Serve warm, with extra garnishes if desired.

Note: Soaking and cooking your own beans takes some planning, but it isn’t complicated. Traditionally beans are soaked overnight in plenty of cold water, then drained and cooked in fresh water. Alternatively, bring dried beans to a hard boil for 1 minute and soak for 1 hour for a faster prep time if you don’t have time to do an overnight soak.

For this recipe, begin with 1 1⁄2 cups of dried beans, soak overnight or using the fast-soak method above. Add soaked beans to 3 quarts of fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until beans are tender; the time will depend on your beans, but it should be around an hour.