Hoppin' John

By slw1112

Ingredients

• 1/3 pound bacon, or 1 ham hock plus 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 small green pepper, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 pound dried black-eyed peas, about 2 cups
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 heaping teaspoon Cajun seasoning
• Salt
• 2 cups long-grain rice
• Scallions or green onions for garnish

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

If you are using bacon, cut it into small pieces and cook it slowly in a medium pot over medium-low heat. If you are using a ham hock, heat the oil in the pot. Once the bacon is crispy (or the oil is hot), increase the heat to medium-high and add the celery, onion, and green pepper and sauté until they begin to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add the garlic, stir well and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the black-eyed peas, bay leaf, thyme and Cajun seasoning and cover with 4 cups of water. If you are using the ham hock, add it to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes to an hour, or longer if needed, until the peas are tender (not mushy).

When the peas are tender, strain out the remaining cooking water. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Taste the peas for salt and add more if needed. If using a ham hock, remove it from the pot, pull off the meat, and return the meat to the pot.

Serve the dish either by placing a ladle-full of black-eyed peas over steamed rice, or by mixing the two together in a large bowl. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve with

Add to Delicious.com

Tradition says that the first bite of food in the New Year should be Hoppin John. Since I believe that whatever I'm doing at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve I'll do for the rest of the year, I make sure that I'm sleeping in bed (or maybe not sleeping...) with my adored husband of many years. We have Hoppin John and cornbread for breakfast.

Was talking about Hoppin' John at the dinner table tonight and looking forward to having it tomorrow. It is over the top delicious and a GREAT start to a new year! I like the addition of celery. Planning to add it to tomorrow's fixin's.

Just made my own version for the first time tonight before reading your recipe, and we're totally in sync! Almost exactly the same, except I used frozen black-eyed peas. I live in Virginia Beach, VA, and earlier this week, I pulled a zillion recipes off the internet to figure out how to make the dish for my church's lunch to feed the homeless and it was very similar. Wanted to make it for myself and my husband to see how it tasted (I'm from Michigan, and we just never did this sort of thing up there). What a great way to ring in the New Year - the house smells wonderful! Happy New Year and thanks for all your excellent recipes! They're the best!

Additional comment. There are a lot of Android users out here!

Hopping John sounds and look wonderful! It reminding me of a blackeyed and swiss chard dish i have been wanting to make for months! Time to get busy! Happy New year!

This is a great recipe, but I always add a can of turnip green or mustard greens toward the end. Makes it a more complete meal.

I'm from SC, so I make this every year on New Years, as well as throughout the year. :)

Frozen black-eyed peas are frozen fresh and make much better (and quicker) peas than dried ones.

I don't buy spice mixtures, so would you please deconstruct Cajun seasoning for me? I know I have all the separate herbs and spices, but I need some proportions.

This year, I tried something alittle different and made ours as a risotto. I cooked the peas and collards separately so they wouldn't get too done, then added them at the last minute once the risotto was finished. Everything was nice an al dente. The cheese was an extra treat in the mix. Oh and of course, I added Tobassco and file. It was really kind of beautiful as well as tasty.

I made Hoppin' John on New Years Day in the slow cooker. Pretty much the same recipe, though I added extra garlic, extra bay leaf, and some fresh sage and thyme and omitted the cajun seasoning (only because I didn't think of it - darn!). It was tasty!!

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