Soup o' the South

A version of gumbo combines chicken, sausage, and shrimp, along with okra and southern cream peas -- a type of field pea beloved all over the southland. Cook them like black-eyed peas. Ladle this gumbo over hot biscuits. Optional ingredients include Cajun-seasoned rice, canned tomatoes with green peppers, scallops, mussels, and new potatoes.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 40 mins
• Total Time: 2 hr 10 mins
• Calories: 536 Calories

Ingredients

• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch garlic powder to taste
• 4 tomatoes, quartered
• 2 cups dried southern cream peas
• 3 cups uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 (3 pound) rotisserie chicken, bones removed and meat cut into bite-size pieces
• 14 ounces ring bologna (such as Eckrich®), cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 3 sweet onions (such as Vidalia®), peeled and halved
• 3 green bell peppers, sliced
• 1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth, or more as needed
• 1 pinch seafood seasoning (such as Old Bay®) to taste
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco®), or to taste (Optional)
• 3 cups frozen sliced okra, thawed

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place the cream peas into a large saucepan, and fill with water. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to a simmer; cook the peas until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain off the water; set peas aside.

Step 2

Place the shrimp into a saucepan with about 1/2 cup of water, and bring to a boil. Cover, and simmer over medium-low heat until the shrimp are opaque and pink, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove cover, drain shrimp, and allow to cool.

Step 3

In a large soup pot, place the cooked cream peas, chicken meat, ring bologna slices, halved onions, tomatoes, and green bell peppers. Pour in enough chicken broth to fully cover the ingredients, and bring to a boil. Stir in salt, black pepper, garlic powder, seafood seasoning, and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook the soup until the flavors have blended, at least 30 minutes. Add more chicken broth if soup is too thick. About 5 minutes before serving, stir in okra and cooked shrimp.