Black Eyed Pea & Collard Greens Soup

w/ Collard Greens Pesto & Chevre

8 cups vegetable boxed broth or homemade stock (preparation below)
1 lb prepared black eyed peas (preparation below)
2 onions, sliced (save outer layer & core for stock)
6 carrots, peeled & diced (save peels for stock)
2 bunches collard greens, chopped
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, diced
2 TSP kosher salt, or to taste
1 lime (optional)

Combine broth and black eyed peas in a pot on the stovetop. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 2 hours.

Sauté onions with a little olive oil until softened
Add collard greens and cook until tender (set aside 1 cup of sautéed onions & collard greens for pesto).
Combine carrots and onions to pot and simmer until carrots are tender.
Add fire roasted tomatoes and salt.
Stir in sautéed collard greens, mix in well with beans
Simmer for 15 mins.
Serve in bowl, topped with a dollop of collard greens pesto (preparation below) & chèvre (preparation below)
Finish with a little lime juice if you like.

Vegetable Stock from scratch prep:

8 cups water
6 potatoes skins
6 carrots skins
2 onions skins (outer layers & core)
2 cloves garlic, whole
1 celery bunch (tops & bottoms only)
2 TSP kosher salt

Put all ingredients into a crockpot.
Cook for 6-8 hours
Cool over night.
Pour crockpot contents through a strainer and mush out all remaining stock.
Toss away the vegetables remains.

Black Eyed Peas prep:

1 lb black eyed peas
1 gallon water
1 clementine, juiced, add peels as well
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 bay leaves
3 cloves garlic, whole
1 TBS white peppercorns, whole
2 TSP kosher salt, or to taste

Soak overnight in large pot.
Drain, rinse and pick out clementine peels, when ready to use.

Collard Greens Pesto prep:

1/2 cup walnuts, whole (slightly browned in a cask iron skillet)
1 cup sautéed collard greens (set aside from above)
2 garlic, raw cloves
2 TBS olive oil

Combine all ingredients into a food processor and mix until clumped together. You may add more olive oil if you’d like an pilier consistency.

Goat Chèvre prep: (to be made a few days ahead)

1/2 gallon goat milk.

Set on kitchen counter for a few days until the curds separate from the whey. The whey will look clear but yellowy.
Take a large bowl and cover the top with a fine cheesecloth or a cloth napkin.
Rubber band the cloth to the top of the bowl and make a shallow well in it (not touching the bottom of the inside of the bowl - you want the whey to separate out and the cheese to remain in the napkin without it soaking in the whey).
Pour the curds and whey through the cloth and allow it to stand overnight until strained. (On the counter or in the refrigerator, as you prefer).
Scoop the cheese off the cloth and put in a container. You may add in salt and herbs, or just use as is.