Great Recipe Experiment 2013 #6

[baronessekat]

From: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-black-eyed-pea-soup.html



The Ingredients.

--1 pound dried black eyed peas
--1 pound spicy sausage (I used Andouille)
--6 cups chicken broth
--1 yellow onion, diced
--1 cup diced carrots
--1 cup diced celery
--4 cloves garlic, diced
--1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
--1 tsp kosher salt
--1/2 tsp black pepper
--Tabasco sauce (to add at the end to taste)

The Directions.

Soak your beans overnight. Drain and pick out the undesirables (broken, discolored beans) in the morning.

Use a 5 to 6 quart crockpot. This will serve about 8 people. Dice the veggies, and dump them into your crockpot with the pre-soaked beans. Add sliced sausage. Pour in broth, and stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for about 6. Before serving, use a stick blender to smash up about 1 cup of beans. If you don't have a stick blender, scoop out 1 cup of beans, blend them in a traditional blender, and add back to the soup. Don't blend too much---just enough to get the broth thicker and creamy-looking.

Ladle into bowls, and add Tabasco sauce to taste.

Thoughts
I was very pleasantly surprised, though I don't know why. I love black eyed peas, though I'm not usually much of a bean soup person.

I think next time I may reduce the amount of broth as I prefer a heartier soup than one with lots of broth. But there were most certainly be a next time. I really enjoyed it and other than what's in the sausage, there is no fat, and it's gluten free (which while I am not personally worried about it, it is good to know for friends.)

Rating
Solid 4 out of 5