MONDAY MORNING RECIPE POST - CLASSIC HOPPIN' JOHN - SERVES 6

I wondered about sharing this so soon after New Year’s Day, but then I thought this could be eaten at any time of the year. So, here it is.

Here in the States, Hoppin' John is traditionally eaten on New Year's Day (if you have leftovers the day after, it’s called Skippin’ Jenny). I have always been a big fan of Southern Living recipes and found this one here. It didn't disappoint and we both thought it excellent. My dear other half will admit that he doesn’t like beans unless they are smothered in sauce (Bushes original is his favorite and they are pretty darned good as I like those too). He surprised himself how much he enjoyed them in this dish, so if you don't have bean lovers in your home, you might try this recipe. Looking at all the ingredients, I saw that there were enough to make it a very tasty dish. I had an idea it would be a winner. We didn't change much but I have added those I made below the recipe. I would suggest looking at the original to see all their helpful notes.

Classic Hoppin’ John - Serves 6

Prep time: 25 minutes

Total time: 1 hour and 30 minutes.

6 thick-cut bacon slices, chopped

4 celery stalks, sliced (about 1-1/2 cups)

1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped (about 1-1/2 cups)

1 small green bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

3 cloves garlic, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1-1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

4 cups fresh or frozen black-eyed peas

2 tablespoons olive oil

1-1/2 cups uncooked Carolina Gold Rice

Fresh green onions (scallions), sliced

Cook the bacon in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until starting to crisp, about 10 minutes.

Add celery, onion, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, black pepper, cayenne and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender, about 8 minutes.

Add broth and black-eyed peas and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the peas are tender, about 40 minutes (see my notes below this recipe).

Drain black-eyed pea mixture, reserving cooking liquid. Return them to the pot, along with 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Cover and keep warm; set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and cook, stirring often, until fragrant and lightly toasted, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in 3 cups of the reserved cooking liquid and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook until rice is tender, 15 to 18 minutes.

Fluff rice with a fork.

Gently stir rice into the black-eyed pea mixture in the Dutch oven. Stir in remaining cooking liquid, 1/4 cup at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

Garnish individual servings with sliced fresh green onions/scallions.

Traditionally this is served with collard greens and cornbread, but we didn't have either at the time. It is such a hearty dish that we didn't miss these extras.

Dried black-eyed peas are traditionally used in Hoppin' John, but if you're pressed for time, you can use either frozen or canned beans. 

(We used canned. I thought we should have used 2 but Gregg thought the one was enough and it didn't detract by not using the extra can. 

The canned also shortens the time of cooking. We didn't need to wait the 40 minutes and it was done after 15 minutes. You can try a couple of the vegetables to see if they are cooked to your taste.)

As we didn't use two cans of black-eyed peas, a can of whole niblet corn was added. They were a nice addition.

When we don't have regular rice for a recipe, we have Trader Joe's Frozen Jasmine rice, which is put in the microwave for three minutes. Each packet has three servings, but we usually split it in two as the servings are quite small. It's very handy at such times.

We kept the rice and beans separate as a personal choice.

Gregg added a spoonful of sour cream to his at the table.

A few dashes of  Sriracha (or another hot sauce) can be added to give it a little extra zip. 

I think that's about it but if you have any questions, you can put them in the comment section. I will do my best to answer.

If you prefer to copy and paste the address instead of using the link above, the full addy is below.

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/classic-hoppin-john-recipe

Thanks for looking.

I hope you all have a great week.