Ham Soup With Black Eyed Peas And Ramen Noodles Food

SLOW-COOKER HAM AND BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP

Steps:

• Spray 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray.
• In 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook and stir 5 to 6 minutes or until vegetables soften. Add garlic and thyme; cook and stir 1 minute. Transfer to slow cooker.
• Add broth, black-eyed peas and ham hock to slow cooker.
• Cover; cook on Low heat setting 7 to 8 hours or until meat on ham hock is tender and easily separated from bone.
• Remove ham hock. Remove ham from bone; discard bone. Shred ham; return to slow cooker, and stir.
• Skim off any excess fat from top of soup. Add parsley, and serve.

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP WITH HAM AND WATERCRESS

Steps:

• Pour 1 tablespoon of the oil into a deep skillet or casserole and turn the heat to medium-high. Add the meat and cook, stirring, for a minute; then add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens and begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Add the peas and 4 cups water and bring to a boil; turn the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until the peas are completely tender--10 minutes for cooked or canned black-eyed peas, about 30 minutes for frozen.
• Stir in the watercress and cook, stirring occasionally, for just a couple of minutes, or until it wilts. Add more water, if necessary. Taste and adjust the seasoning, stir in the remaining tablespoon oil, and serve.
• With Minimal effort: The meat can be prosciutto or ham; you can use bacon or pancetta instead, but cook them a little longer. Instead of onion, you can use garlic, leek, or shallots. Black-eyed peas are the traditional choice, but any legume will work perfectly well. For the watercress, substitute arugula or spinach, or any winter green, like kale, mustard, collards, and turnips, all of which will take a little longer to cook--add them to the soup along with the peas. Liquid condiments, like Tabasco or another hot sauce or vinegar, are good here. Increase the amount of meat to 1/2 pound or so (this is especially good with ham), double the amount of greens, and cook the soup until it's thick; you can call it a stew.

HAM SOUP WITH BLACK-EYED PEAS AND RAMEN NOODLES

Steps:

• In a stockpot, cover ham hocks with water (about 7 cups). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Cool and refrigerate until fat hardens on top, 2 to 3 hours (you can leave the hocks in the liquid). Skim fat and return broth to a stockpot and bring to a boil. Season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from heat.
• In a separate stockpot over medium-high heat, add oil. When heated, add collard greens, 2/3 of the green onions and all the garlic. Stir-fry for 2 minutes. Don't overcook; the collards should still be bright green.
• Pour hot ham broth (about 6 cups) over collards, add ramen noodles and beans and bring to a boil. Cook until the noodles are soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Garnish with reserved green onion and cilantro.

BLACK-EYED PEA SOUP WITH HAM

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp; remove to paper towels. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. In the drippings, saute the green pepper, onion and garlic until tender., Add peas, tomatoes, water and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, parsley and bacon.