Four Dallas Chefs Share Black-Eyed Pea Recipes to Bring You Luck in 2021
We ll relish every extra spoonful of good fortune that we can.
By Kathy Wise
Published in
Food & Drink
December 28, 2020
9:30 am
Black-eyed peas and greens, symbolizing coins and paper currency, have long been consumed in Texas on New Year’s Day for luck. Although they’ve become a Southern standard, black-eyed peas have an ancient lineage. They’re not actually peas but a legume related to the mung bean that have been cultivated in China and India since prehistoric times. It’s believed that they were brought to the West Indies by enslaved Africans in 1674, eventually making their way to Virginia and the American South, where they became a protein- and nutrient-rich dietary staple.