Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion diced
1 rib celery diced
2 carrots diced
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1.5 cups ham cubed, or leftover ham bone or hock (see notes)
1 lb. dried black eyed peas soaked overnight in water, rinsed, and drained
6 cups chicken stock/broth or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh thyme (from about 2 sprigs)
15 oz. canned fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups roughly chopped kale or collard greens, packed
kosher to taste
black pepper to taste
Instructions
Turn your Instant Pot/pressure cooker to the “sauté” setting.
Sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in the olive oil (1 tablespoon) for 2-3 minutes, or until softened.
Add the minced garlic (1 clove) and cubed ham (1.5 cups); sauté for 2-3 more minutes. (If using a ham bone or hock, just add the garlic, then add the ham bone in the next step).
Add the pre-soaked, drained, and rinsed black eyed peas, chicken stock (6 cups), smoked paprika (1 tablespoon), bay leaf, fresh thyme (1 tablespoon). Stir together.
Set Instant Pot/pressure cooker to manual/high pressure for 10 minutes.
Allow to naturally depressurize for 20 minutes, then quick release the pressure.
If you used a ham bone/hock, remove it at this time. Take the meat off the bone, chop it up, and add it back to the pot. Discard the bone.
Stir in the 2 cups packed kale (or collard greens) and canned diced tomatoes to the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. The residual heat of the soup should cook the greens through, but you can always set the pot to “sauté” to simmer it for a few minutes if you need to.
