Beth Price

“This black-eyed pea stew is wonderfully easy to prepare and truly a perfect addition to any New Year’s menu, ensuring you get your peas for that essential good luck! I chose to use Italian sausage for this recipe, removing it from its casing and chopping it into bite-sized pieces to integrate seamlessly into the stew. For a future iteration, I’m considering trying a sage sausage to introduce a slightly different aromatic twist.”

“One key observation is that this stew greatly benefits from resting, allowing the flavors to meld more deeply and the broth to thicken to a luxurious consistency. I prepared it earlier in the day and simply reheated it for dinner, which worked beautifully. We paired it with a generous portion of creamed callaloo, though it would be equally delightful with classic collard greens or even sautéed spinach. The recipe yields a very substantial amount, so we conveniently froze individual servings, making them perfect for a quick, comforting lunch on a chilly day.”

Irene Seales

“This is truly a fantastic, hearty stew that works perfectly not just as a fall favorite but can be enjoyed year-round. I appreciate recipes that allow for quick weeknight dinners by utilizing ingredients I typically have on hand or can easily source, and this one fits the bill perfectly. While perhaps not a spur-of-the-moment meal, it’s a manageable afternoon project that delivers incredible rewards.”

“For our small household, this stew provided several days of delicious meals, each bowl tasting as good as, if not better than, the first. The fact that black-eyed peas generally don’t require pre-soaking simplifies the planning process immensely. You also have the flexibility to adjust the spice level to your preference. Lacking ham hocks, I opted for freshly made Italian sausage from my local butcher. To compensate for the smoky flavor typically provided by ham hocks, I used fire-roasted tomatoes and added a touch of Penzey’s Black and Red Pepper blend towards the end to fine-tune the seasoning. I also incorporated an additional cup of broth at this point as the stew seemed a bit dry. After returning the chopped sausage, adding the extra liquid, and adjusting seasonings, we gave the stew another 15 minutes of cooking time for the flavors to fully harmonize. The delicate casing of the sausage crumbled beautifully, blending seamlessly into the stew.”

“We enjoyed it hot on the first day and reheated the leftovers, which consistently proved to be delicious, offering just the right amount of warmth and spice. Most importantly, this recipe rekindled our love for black-eyed peas! Growing up, I only knew them prepared very simply, often with a dash of red wine vinegar and perhaps some wild greens, Greek-style, by my grandfather. I adore the robust and wholesome use of the beans with the sausage in this recipe, though a lovely meatless version would also be simple to create. With a little attention, you can have a gorgeous, flavorful stew on the table in under three hours.”

Pat Francis

“What a wonderfully hearty and earthy dish to welcome the colder months! This black-eyed pea stew doesn’t demand excessive attention, requiring just a bit of initial prep before it gently simmers its way to perfection. It’s a true winter warmer.”

“My main advice would be to monitor its progress a bit more closely than I initially did, as I found that a significant amount of the cooking liquid evaporated during the process. This was the only minor challenge I encountered with the recipe. Next time, I would definitely keep a more careful eye on the simmer and be prepared to add extra stock or water as it cooks to maintain the desired consistency.”

“As I’m not particularly fond of cooking with ham hocks, I chose the sausage option. Four hot Italian pork sausages weighed exactly 1 1/4 pounds. I suspect that the sausages might have displaced more liquid in the pot compared to ham hocks, which could have influenced the cooking time. After simmering for 1 3/4 hours, the peas were still not quite tender, and the liquid had reduced considerably. To remedy this, I temporarily removed the sausages so the beans could have the broth entirely to themselves, ensuring they were fully submerged. Once the peas were done, I sliced the sausages into 1/2-inch thick pieces and returned them to the pot.”

“Ordinarily, I would hesitate to add tomatoes at the beginning when cooking dried beans, as their acidity can sometimes impede softening. I’m curious if the beans would have cooked faster had the tomatoes been introduced once the black-eyed peas had already begun to soften. A shorter cooking time might also have helped prevent excessive liquid evaporation. I made this stew earlier in the day to reheat for dinner. Remembering that a stew should not be as thin as a soup, I still found it needed a little more liquid when reheating, so I added about 1/4 cup of chicken stock to each bowl. By the next day, the leftovers had absorbed all remaining liquid, becoming quite thick.”

Sue Epstein

“Having grown up in the South, black-eyed peas are an ingrained tradition for me on New Year’s Day. Interestingly, they also hold a similar traditional significance for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. While I typically prepare a black-eyed pea salad, this year I decided to try this stew, and I am absolutely delighted with the outcome. All my guests thoroughly enjoyed it!”

“The stew was quite straightforward to assemble, requiring only about 15 minutes of prep time and just over two hours for cooking. I opted for mild beef sausage to ensure the stew wasn’t overly spicy, catering to all palates. I also believe this recipe would adapt exceptionally well to a slow cooker, offering an even more hands-off approach to this comforting dish.”