Northerner Rob Gourley married into a Southern family, and eating bland black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day for good luck is tradition.
No, this is not Rob’s recipe on how to make Watt-Ahh®. The next best kept secret is Rob Gourley’s other recipe … how to make Southern black-eyed peas more edible and delicious with a Northern twist (and we also think with even more New Year’s good luck). This is a recipe calls for tasting as you go to get the combination of flavors and textures that you prefer.
One bag of black-eyed peas: Rob uses Watt-Ahh® bottled water to either soak overnight or cook with low heat (follow the directions on the bag). Make sure to toss out the remaining soaking water.
Add chicken broth and more Watt-Ahh® to the black-eyed peas in a deep stew pot with a cover.
Chop and add:
- Sautéed onions and celery
- Reindeer sausage (order from: http://www.alaskasausage.com/)
- Ham
Add flavoring:
- Salted pork
- Birch syrup (order from: http://www.alaskabirchsyrup.com/abbisy.html)
- Other seasoning to taste (e.g., pepper, dab of hot sauce)
Cover the stew pot and simmer on low heat for at least a couple of hours or longer for even richer flavors (stir occasionally).
It is a meal in itself or a robust side dish with crab. Of course, we continue our traditional New Year’s theme of “Southern Meets Northern” with a combination of Alaskan king crab and Florida stone crab.
Wishing everyone a wonderful New Year’s with their own family traditions and maybe their own twist or two!