Good Luck Soup: A New Year's Tradition

One of my fondest memories of New Year’s dates back to a few years ago when my parents and I spent the holiday in North Carolina at a friend’s lake house. Snow was blanketing the water, but all we needed was a bottle of jagermeister and the hot tub to have a jolly ole time. We ran wildly out of the house and dashed through the snowy winter-scape to the hot tub, laughing all the way.  

This is my first recollection of my parents preparing the traditional New Year’s Day feast. We devoured all of the good luck foods including black eyed peas (for growth), ham (for progress), corn bread (for wealth), and greens (for prosperity). Oh, and dark chocolate cognac cake (just because). 

The happy memories from that trip floated through my mind while I cooked a pot of Good Luck Soup. The memories made the soup taste that much better. Instead of corn bread on the side I topped the soup with mini ham and cheese sandwiches. These little crouton impersonators were the perfect twist.  

I wish all of my friends and family a happy and prosperous New Year. Keep cooking and smiling!  

Good Luck Soup (Adapted from PaulaDeen)

 
Serves: 10

Cook Time: 80 minutes 

Ingredients:  

1 large spiral ham bone

4 cups water

1 white onion

3 large carrots

3 stalks celery

Pinch of red pepper flakes

1 tsp bacon drippings

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

4 cups low sodium vegetable broth

8 cups fresh collard greens, chopped

10 oz spiral ham, diced

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

3 15 oz cans black eye peas, drained and rinsed

Tabasco, to taste 

Directions:

In a large stock pot on high heat, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the ham bone, ends/scraps of carrots, celery, onion, and a pinch of pepper flakes; reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain and set aside.

In the same pot on medium high heat, add a teaspoon of bacon drippings. Stir in the diced carrots, onions, celery and cook until translucent; season with salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Add the collard greens, vegetable stock, and ham stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the collard greens are tender, about 15 minutes. Add the diced ham, tomatoes, and black eyed peas; cover and simmer for another 20 minutes. 

Cooks note: Remove any impurities that might float to the top of the soup with a shallow spoon. This can be done any time during the cooking process.

Serve with hot sauce and topped with ham and cheese cornbread croutons (recipe below)

Ham and Cheese Cornbread Croutons 
(these are not dairy or gluten free, but they are a great addition for your friends and family)

Ingredients:

4 squares corn bread (your favorite recipe or baker)

1 tsp olive oil

2 slices spiral ham

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 oz gruyere cheese

Directions:

Heat up your favorite griddle or Panini press on medium low heat.  Cut the corn bread lengthwise making two thin slices. Add a thin layer of Dijon and sandwich in a piece of gruyere and ham. In the lightly oiled griddle or Panini, grill the sandwich until lightly browned; applying pressure to condense ingredients.

Carefully slice in to fourths to create crouton sized bites. Garnish each bowl of Good Luck Soup with three pieces for a fun twist on this classic dish!