*This soup is a terrific winter warmer and a great way to use up a leftover ham bone (which adds a lot of flavour to this hearty soup). A smoked turkey leg is tasty substitute. No bones lying around? Just replace half of the water with chicken or vegetable stock instead.

1 cooked ham bone (or smoked turkey leg) with some meat left on it

1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

1 bunch collard greens, remove stems and roughly chop leaves (or kale or Swiss chard)

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Pinch red pepper flakes

6 cups water

1 cup black eyed peas, cooked or canned (drain and rinse before adding)

Remove meat form ham bone to make about 1 cup chopped ham. Set aside.

Heat oil in soup pot. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook, stirring, over medium heat until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, collard greens and chili flakes, adding collard greens by the handful, until the collards are well wilted, about 5 minutes. *If using Swiss chard, chop the stems and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the leaves.

Add water, beans, dried thyme, ham bone and chopped ham; cover  and bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove lid and reduce heat to medium; let simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes or until collards are very tender and broth is tasty (20 to 25 minutes for Swiss chard and kale). Remove bone and season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

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