Spicy Black-Eyed Peas Recipe

Black-eyed peas are a Southern favorite but are becoming more and more popular in the rest of the world as people discover this delicious and healthy dish.  Below is my spicier version for this dish that has bacon, onion, celery, tomatoes and green chiles added to black-eyed peas for a delicious Spicy Black-Eyed Peas.

Ingredients:

5 slices of bacon
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk of celery, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups chicken broth
1 (12 oz.) can of diced tomatoes with green chiles
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper
4 cups of frozen black-eyed peas

Instructions:

Take a Dutch oven and add your bacon into the pan and then place it over a medium low heat and cook the bacon until its crisp.  You will want to turn the bacon often as it cooks.  When finished set it aside to drain on paper towels.

Then place your onion, celery and garlic in the bacon drippings and cook on a medium high heat until tender.  This should take about 4 minutes.  Then add in your broth, tomatoes, chili powder, cayenne, bay leaves, salt, pepper and black-eyed peas. Bring them to a boil and then reduce your heat to a low and bring to a simmer.  At this point crumble your bacon and then add your bacon into your pan and then let simmer for 45 to 60 minutes until the peas as tender as you like.

At this point you should take your black-eyed peas off your burner, remove your bay leaves and then take a cup of your black-eyed peas and broth and place them in a food processor and puree them.   Then add  your puree back into your saucepan and mix.  This will give your black-eyed peas a creamier consistency.  Your spicy black-eyed peas are now ready to serve and enjoy.