Black-eyed peas recipe: Good luck for 2011, served with bacon and Fergie

It's a New Year's tradition in homes across the country and especially the South: If you want to have good luck in the coming year, eat some black-eyed peas on Jan. 1.

And just to be clear, we're talking about actual black-eyed peas. We do not endorse the cooking and eating of Fergie, Will.I.Am and Co.

In addition to supposedly bringing luck (legumes are representative of money, and the black-eyed pea tradition in this country dates to the Civil War), the following recipe sounds like a pretty nice hangover cure. It's got a little bit of spice, good amounts of starch and protein courtesy of the main ingredient and the best post-bender fix of all, bacon.

This recipe is courtesy of the Food Network's Tyler Florence. Enjoy.

Spicy Black-Eyed Peas

Ingredients

2 slices thick-cut bacon, sliced
5 cloves garlic, peeled
5 dried red chiles, broken up
2 bay leaves
1 pound dried black-eyed peas
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
2 tomatoes, quartered
1/4 bunch fresh thyme, leaves removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, juiced
4 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, add bacon and render until crisp. Remove the bacon to the paper towel-lined plate. To the same pot with rendered bacon fat, add the garlic, chiles, bay leaves, and dried peas and stir to combine. Pour in the chicken stock and add the tomatoes. Simmer over medium-low heat for 1 hour until peas are tender.

Transfer about 1 to 2 cups of the peas to a blender and puree until smooth. Place the blended peas back into the pot and stir to incorporate. Add the thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Continue to cook for another 15 minutes. Place in a serving dish and dress the peas with the lemon juice, green onions, cilantro and bacon before serving.

And, OK, if you're eating black-eyed peas, you might as well listen to the Black Eyed Peas.