I'm not a big believer in superstition, but for some reason I've always eaten black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. I figure starting the new year by indulging in a juicy superstition can't hurt.
Hoppin' John is a basic, simple black-eyed pea stew. I kept this version of thetraditional New Year's Day dish extremely pared down, and when I made it yesterday I had a hard time not adding bright red bell pepper, big pieces of torn kale, and canned diced tomatoes. All of these are acceptable, of course, but I wanted to keep thislucky New Year's foodbasic and unadorned. There's beauty in simplicity sometimes.
Also, I was lazy.
What's the difference between Hoppin' John and black-eyed peas?
Hoppin' John has black-eyed peas in it, but it also has other ingredients. In this recipe, the black-eyed peas are stewed with onion, garlic, celery, and a ham hock, similar to how some Southern-style black-eyed peas would be cooked. But the kicker is that Hoppin' John always involves rice. For this Hoppin' John, I usuallyjust serve the black-eyed peas over cooked rice, but you could always stir cooked rice right into the pot of peas.
Do you need to soak black-eyed peas before you cook them?
If you're using dried beans, soak them for at least six hours. This cuts down on the cook time required for soft, tender peas. You can also use canned, drained black-eyed peas for this. If you do that, use diced ham or sliced bacon instead of a ham hock, and use a little less broth since thepeas won't be cooking as long.
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- Yields:
- 10 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 6 hrs
- Cook Time:
- 1 hr
- Total Time:
- 7 hrs
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp.
butter
- 1
large onion, diced
- 4
cloves garlic, minced
- 1
green bell pepper, diced
- 2
stalks celery, diced
- 1 lb.
dried black eyed peas
- 5 c.
low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
- 1
whole ham hock
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Cayenne pepper, to taste
- 2 tbsp.
white vinegar
White or brown rice, to serve
Directions
- Step1Soak theblack-eyed peas in cool water for at least 6 hours. Rinse before using.
- Step2Heat the butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, green pepper, and celery, and stir. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the soaked beans, then add chicken broth and ham hock as well as salt, pepper, and cayenne, to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover the pot for 30 minutes.
- Step3After 30 minutes, check the liquid level; if it's too soupy, cook with the lid off for another 15 minutes or so. If it's too thick, splash in a little more broth. Stir in vinegar, then taste for seasonings. Add more spice if needed.
- Step4Serve over white or brown rice, making sure to get plenty of the cooking liquid spooned over the top. Or, you may mix the bean mixture with the rice before serving.
- Step5Variations: Add red bell pepper, canned diced tomatoes, diced jalapeños, diced ham (instead of ham hocks), or sliced bacon (instead of ham hocks). Stir in torn-up kale when 5 minutes of cooking time remain. You can also use canned, drained black-eyed peas if preferred. Just use diced ham instead of ham hock and a little less broth, as peas won't need to cook as long.
Begin by throwing a bunch of onion, celery, and green bell pepper in a pot of sizzling butter.
Stir it around and add quite a bit of minced garlic. Then cook the veggies for 3 to 4 minutes, breathing in the magical aroma.
And now for the black-eyed peas: These are fresh (they came from the big city) and lots of supermarkets will sell these at this time of year. However, if you use dried black-eyed peas, just soak them in cool water for about 6 hours or so before using them. They’ll be delicious!
Pour the peas right into the pot…
And stir them around to combine.
Then pour in low (or no) sodium chicken broth.
Next, add in a big, gnarly ham hock…
A little salt (you can always add more later)…
(Oh, and nice hand, Ree!)
And a lot of black pepper.
Then bring it to a boil, reduce the heat, and cover the pot. Simmer it for a good 30 minutes, or until the beans soften and the liquid reduces quite a bit.
At the end, I decided to add in plenty of cayenne pepper for some spice… then I stirred in some white vinegar, which is something my BFF Hyacinth always does with her Hoppin' John.
I like to do what Hy does. Except control what I eat.
Then you just spoon the whole thing over white or brown rice, making sure to get lots of the soupy liquid in there so the whole thing becomes a delicious mess while you eat it. Another thing you can do is stir the rice into the pot and mix it all together before serving. I might have done that, but my rice turned out a little sticky (something about the fact that I forgot I was cooking it until I smelled something funny) and I decided not to push it.
This is a yummy New Year's Day tradition, folks. And again, this is the really basic recipe… so here are some variations:
- Add diced red bell pepper to the onion/pepper mixture at the beginning of the recipe.
- Use 2 cups of diced ham to the pot instead of ham hocks.
- Use 4 slices of bacon cut into bits instead of ham hocks; just cook it along with the onion/pepper mixture.
- Add 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes to the cooking liquid with the broth.
- Stir in 1 bunch of washed, torn kale to the pot when it has about 5 to 10 minutes left of cooking time.
- Stir in a couple of sliced green onions at the end.
Have some fun with it and make it your own!
And Happy New Year, my friends. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.
