January 1 is not the time to kick off that diet resolution, especially if you’re superstitious.
In the South, where I live, and in lots of other places around the world, it’s customary to prepare a New Year’s Day feast to ensure prosperity and good fortune for the year to come.
Our New Year’s Day menu always includes ham, black-eyed peas, greens and cornbread. Family tradition, history, superstition and folklore dictate what we put on our plates.
My mama always used to tell us that the number of black-eyed peas and greens we ate on New Year’s Day would foretell how much money we would earn in the coming year.
Turns out Mama’s words were more than just a clever way to get us to clean our plates.
Pork symbolizes progress, moving forward and overall good luck, while the rest of the food on the plate symbolizes wealth and prosperity.
Cornbread is a stand-in for gold; black-eyed peas represent coins; and collards and other greens look like folded money.
These Southern food superstitions date back to the Civil War. Details of these folkloric stories differ, but the gist is that Southerners survived on humble meals of black-eyed peas and greens after Union soldiers pillaged their land and destroyed most of their crops. Though they were left with little, Southerners were able to move forward and prosper with the help of these humble, but nutritious, foods.
Many different regions and cultures around the world have their own New Year’s Day food traditions.
In South Carolina, a stew called Hoppin’ John, which is made with black-eyed peas and rice seasoned with bacon or pork fat, is a must-have. Germans typically eat lentils and pork at the first of the year, for reasons of luck and prosperity. The Swiss celebrate the new year by dropping dollops of whipped cream on the floor as a symbol of the richness to come.
Some foods are off limits on New Year’s Day because they’re believed to bring bad luck.
My mother-in-law and many other people believe you shouldn’t serve chicken or poultry on Jan. 1 or you’ll spend the year “scratching” for money. Since lobster moves backward, you could set yourself up for a year of a setback if you eat it on New Year’s Day.
I don’t know if a single meal can set the stage for a prosperous year filled with good fortune, but I’m not willing to chance it. And a New Year’s Day feast of collards, cornbread, black-eyed peas and ham is some good eating!
Here are two of my favorite Southern-style New Year’s Eve recipes for black-eyed peas and collard greens.
[ultimate-recipe id=”69583″ template=”default”]
[ultimate-recipe id=”69579″ template=”default”]
Here are a few things to note about these recipes:
- When cooking black-eyed peas (or any dried beans), do not skip the soaking step. I prefer to soak my beans overnight, but if you forget, use the quick-soak method outlined on the package. I personally don’t think you can overcook beans. You want them tender, not crunchy.
- Be sure to wash the collard greens thoroughly to remove any dirt and sediment. My mother-in-law calls it “looking your collards”, and I believe she soaks hers.
- Whatever you do, don’t drain the collards after you cook them. A lot of the flavor is in the pot liquor – or pot likker, if you’re being colloquial – and some cooks even save theirs to season the next batch of collards.
- If you don’t have time to make black-eyed peas and collards from scratch, you can find canned and frozen varieties to serve on New Year’s Day. Just be sure to dress up the flavor with your own seasonings.
- After feasting on your lucky meal, you can turn your attention to New Year’s resolutions. These tips from ForRent.com will help keep you on track.