Wishbone was a small restaurant on Grand Avenue in Chicago. We headed over there for lunch from work. Eventually they expanded to a larger facility by Harpo Studios and to our “hood” at Lincoln and School St. Always a favorite was Hoppin’ John. Wishbone served Southern Cooking. Although I don’t have their recipe, I feel this comes close. Hoppin’ is a “traditional” dish in the South served on New Year’s Day to guarantee a long life. It combines what were usually on hand – cooked black eyed peas and cooked rice. Serve it warm or chilled and dressed with a vinaigrette, its’ a very special salad. Hoppin’ John is one of those classic Southern dishes that come with as many versions, stories and flavors as there are cooks. At its core, however, Hoppin’ John is rice, black-eyed peas (or field peas), smoked pork, and onions. Black eyed peas are supposed to bring you luck if you eat them on New Year’s Day, and it is traditionally eaten with collard greens. So, for this new year, I offer you a hot plate of Hoppin’ John. May we all enjoy its good luck. Happy New Year! Many things may affect the cooking times of the black eyed peas. They could take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to cook to tenderness, depending on their age, where they were grown, and the water you are using.
This recipe uses 1/2 pound of dried black eyed peas (about 1 1/4 cups). You could use up to a pound of black eyed peas without changing the amounts of the other ingredients, if you do, you'll need to double the amount of water and you may need to add more salt.
INGREDIENTS
Once the bacon is crispy (or the oil is hot if you are using a ham hock and not bacon), 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. 2 Cook the black-eyed peas and seasonings: 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 an hour to an hour and a half, (less time or more depending on the freshness of the black-eyed peas) until the peas are tender (not mushy). 3 Cook the rice: While the black-eyed peas are cooking, cook the rice separately according to package instructions. 4 Strain cooking water from peas, adjust seasoning: When the black-eyed peas are tender, strain out the remaining cooking water. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Taste the black-eyed 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. 5 Serve: 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 collard greens, kale, beet or turnip greens.
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