Mediterranean Black-Eyed Pea Soup

When the days grow short and frosty, we are inspired to step into the kitchen and get cooking! Long, chilly nights are vastly improved by easy recipes like this one. A delicious, simple, and satisfying Mediterranean Black-Eyed Pea Soup. If you ask me, there’s nothing better than a bowl of steaming soup on a cold, rainy—or snowy—night.

Mediterranean Black-Eyed Pea Soup

This recipe is soothing, cozy and crazy easy to make. You'll be glad the black-eyed peas are being given their much-needed makeover. The humble yet often forgotten savoury legumes are the stars of this herby and satisfying Mediterranean soup⏤it's a quick-cooking, nourishing, and easy-to-digest recipe. Great for those who are new to eating the Mediterranean diet, and the results are DELISH!

There’s something uniquely cozy about this pesto-tinged and soothing Mediterranean Black-Eyed Pea Soup; it's a cool-weather staple in my home, and I hope it’ll become one in yours too. 

What's in this Mediterranean Black-Eyed Pea Soup?

• Black-eyed peas. I used canned black-eyed peas to save on cooking time, but you can use fresh, just note that the recipe won't be as quick to make.
• Vegetable Broth. I used veggie broth for this soup, but you can also use chicken broth or a stock cube. 
• Rainbow chard. You can swap the rainbow chard for the regular chard, spinach, or kale. 
• Spices: Smoked paprika, caraway, and chilli flakes.
• Herby pesto: parsley, cilantro, lemon, green pepper, walnuts and olive oil. 
• Onion & Garlic. You can use any onion for this recipe, and adjust the garlic to your personal taste.
• Lemon. For the extra splash of a much need flavour boost. 

How do you make Black-Eyed Pea Soup?

1. Sauté the onions, chard stem and the spices.
2. Toss in the beans and broth. Simmer.
3. Blitz the herbs and make a pesto.
4. The finishing touch, remove the soup from heat and add the chard leaves. Stir. 
5. Scoop up some soup into your favourite bowl, and top with the pesto. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use other beans than black-eyed peas? Yes, you can. However, I strongly suggest you give these legumes a chance. 

Can I use dried black-eyed peas for this recipe? Of course you can, however, the cooking time will increase greatly. Depending on the age of the legumes, the cooking time can be from 20 to 40 minutes. 

What can I use instead of chard? You can swap chard for spinach, kale or escarole.

Can I use store-bought pesto instead of your herb pesto? Keep in mind the taste will be different from the original recipe; however, you most definitely can swap them. 

More mediterranean soup inspirations? Try these!

Garden Chicken Soup

Mediterranean Lentil Soup

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Mediterranean Black-Eyed Pea Soup

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This simple, delicious, plant-based Black-Eyed Pea Soup recipe is soothing, cozy and crazy easy to make. I’ve given the black-eye pea its much-needed makeover and the results are DELISH!

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion. diced
• 2 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, ground
• ½ teaspoon 7 spice, ground
• ¼ teaspoon chilli pepper or cayenne
• 2 - 400g cans of black-eyed peas
• 3 cups low sodium vegetable stock
• 1 bunch of chard
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Salt to taste
• HERB PESTO
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• ⅛ cup lemon juice
• 1 cup parsley, rough chop
• 1 cup cilantro, rough chop
• 1 long green chilli pepper, rough chop
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 tablespoon walnuts
• 1 teaspoon honey

Instructions

1. Prepare the chard. Remove the stems from the chard, then dice the stems. Set aside. Layer the chard leaves on top of each other and give them a rough chop. No need for perfection; you just need pieces small enough to eat and avoid having a giant leaf hanging out of your mouth.
2. Prepare the soup. Heat a 6 qt pot on medium-high heat. Add olive oil, onions, chard stem and a pinch of salt. Cook until tender and onions are translucent.
3. Spice it up. Once the onions and chard are tender, add the garlic, caraway, smoked paprika, 7 spice, and chilli peppers. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.

1. Simmer the soup. Add the black eye peas, with their liquid, and stock to the pot and then simmer for 10-15 minutes.
2. Prepare the pesto. Place the olive oil, herbs, green pepper, garlic, walnuts, lemon and honey into a mini food processor. Blitz until a somewhat smooth paste.
3. Finishing the soup. Once the soup is finished cooking, add the chard leaves and lemon to the pot. Remove from heat and allow the greens to steam in the residual heat for 2 minutes.
4. Plate the soup. Scoop the soup into your favourite bowl and top with the pesto.

Notes

For the quickest results use canned black-eyed peas.

If you choose to use the dry variety, the cooking time will increase and you'll need about 3 cups of cooked black-eyed peas and their liquid to prepare this soup.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 418Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 622mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 12gSugar: 9gProtein: 20g

Did you make this recipe?

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