This creamy soup will make you a black-eyed-pea believer

Sometimes I get the feeling that too many people eat black-eyed peas annually — on New Year’s Day. While I love the Southern tradition of black-eyed peas and rice (hoppin’ John), often eaten with greens, I’m here to say that black-eyed peas deserve a place in your repertoire the rest of the year, too.

Don’t get caught up in the need to cook them from dried. You can certainly do that if you have the time — or in a pressure cooker — but there’s no shame in opening a can on any given weeknight. However you get there, black-eyed peas are a no-brainer with rice, of course, or whatever grain you prefer. Their sturdy texture makes them a natural in summery salads, too, and this time of year they can star in soups.

Take this one, from cookbook author Gennaro Contaldo. It’s simple at its core, just a nice combination of aromatic vegetables and herbs, vegetable broth and a can of black-eyed peas, pureed into something creamy but without cream. What takes the dish up a notch is the olive pesto you quickly blitz while the soup cooks. It’s sharp and a little crunchy, and when you dollop some on top and stir it in, the soup goes from good to glorious.

Add some bread and/or a salad, and you’ve got a hearty winter meal. Just don’t wait until New Year’s Day 2020 to make it, please.

MAKE AHEAD: The finished soup and pesto can be refrigerated, separately, for up to 1 week or frozen, separately, for up to 3 months. Defrost and warm the soup over low heat; bring the pesto to room temperature before serving.

NOTE: See Scrappy Vegetable Broth.

Creamy Black-Eyed Pea Soup With Olive Pesto

• FOR THE SOUP

1 leek, white and light-green parts, trimmed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 small carrot, scrubbed well and chopped

Leaves from 1 stem fresh thyme

1 15-ounce can no-salt-added black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed

2 1/2 cups homemade or store-bought no-salt-added vegetable broth (see NOTE)

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• FOR THE PESTO

1 1/4 cups pitted green olives

1/4 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon capers, drained

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

For the soup: Cut the leek in half lengthwise, rinse thoroughly (including between the layers), pat dry and then chop.

Stir in the black-eyed peas and pour in the broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and cook until the vegetables are very tender and the flavors have come together, 15 minutes. Stir in the salt and pepper, and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, make the pesto: Combine the olives, parsley, garlic, capers and oil in a food processor or blender; pulse until well incorporated but still a little chunky.

To finish the soup, use an immersion (stick) blender to puree until smooth. Taste, and add more salt as needed.

Divide the soup among bowls. Top each portion with a generous dollop of the olive pesto.

Calories: 230; Total Fat: 15 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 530 mg; Carbohydrates: 23 g; Dietary Fiber: 4 g; Sugars: 4 g; Protein: 6 g.