What legume is traditionally eaten with collard greens on New Year's Day for prosperity?

What legume is traditionally eaten with collard greens on New Year’s Day for prosperity? Black-eyed peas. In a Southern New Year’s meal, black-eyed peas symbolize prosperity, while greens such as collards are associated with money.

Black-eyed peas are a subspecies of the cowpea, an Old World legume domesticated in Africa. They were cultivated in Virginia by the 17th century after being brought to North America by enslaved Africans, and they became an important ingredient in Southern and African American cooking.

The New Year’s dish is often served as Hoppin’ John, made with black-eyed peas, rice, onion, and pork such as ham, bacon, or a ham hock. The peas’ swelling during cooking is sometimes interpreted as a symbol of increasing wealth. Cornbread may accompany the meal as a representation of gold.

Traditions vary by family and region, and the custom has several proposed histories, including African American Hoodoo practices, Civil War-era stories, and Jewish culinary influences. The luck is folklore, but the dish remains a durable Southern food tradition.