First I boiled some meaty smoked ham hocks in water in my large pot for a little over an hour and then in a frying pan I sauteed chopped onions, celery and garlic in EVOO. Added thyme, paprika, black pepper, a little cayenne, the Aleppo pepper and bay leaves and then added it all to the pot with the hocks. I rinsed two 12 oz. packages of fresh black-eyed peas in water and then added them in. Brought it to a boil then simmered for a good two and a half hours. After the first hour I added salt and some brown sugar. The hock meat was quite tender after that and I shredded it and put it back in the pot. Even my Yankee hubby really liked it!
Have any of y'all used Aleppo pepper? I'm going to start experimenting with it. It has a "fruity" kind of heat that isn't overly spicy at all.
I don’t think we’ve ever seen Aleppos in our groceries, but your pot sounds a lot like the navy bean soup with ham hocks that my husband makes. (He puts potatoes in, which I don’t really like in soup - unless it’s Vichyssoise.)
I will try yours, it sounds very good. But I’ve never seen fresh black-eye peas - only the canned or dried ones. I guess I’d have to soak the dry (?)