Chipotle and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Double Cilantro

This is an old recipe that was removed from the site for a while. I am adding the printer-friendly version of the recipe at the request of a reader named Sarah.)

(Makes 4 servings but can easily be doubled.)

Ingredients:

• 1 T olive oi
• 1 large onion, choppe
• 3-4 cloves garlic, choppe
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary (I used my frozen rosemary
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme (I used my frozen thyme.
• 1 pkg (16 oz.) frozen black-eyed pea
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock or 4 cans chicken or vegetable broth (I used homemade chicken stock
• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnis
• 2-3 T fresh lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. ground chipotle chile powder (or less, also can use a finely chopped chipotle chile pepper from a can)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• sour cream or plain yogurt for serving

Instructions

1. Heat oil in heavy soup pot, add onion, and saute over medium high heat until onion starts to soften, about 2 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more, then add fresh or dried rosemary and thyme and cook 2-3 minutes more
3. Add frozen black-eyed peas and chicken stock, let come to a boil, then reduce heat to a very low simmer and cook 40-60 minutes, or until black-eyed peas are quite softened.
4. Stir in chopped cilantro and chipotle chile powder or chopped chipotle pepper, then remove soup from heat
5. Use a food processor, blender, or immersion blender to puree soup, being very careful with the hot liquid. (I used my Braun Immersion Blender to puree the soup right in the pot, a method I highly recommend if you have one of these handy gadgets.
6. When soup is pureed, reheat it to a very slight simmer. Stir in lime juice and season to taste with salt and fresh ground black pepper. (I didn’t use any salt.)
7. Serve hot with sour cream or plain yogurt if desired, and provide extra chopped cilantro to garnish each serving of soup.