Hoppin' John (Black-Eyed Peas)
Submitted by Michelle Maggs
An old Southern tradition is to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day if you want to have good luck the rest of the year. My neighbor from Jackson, Mississippi, started me on this superstition, and I’ve been making it ever since. Figured we could use luck any way we could get it. Finding a recipe for black-eyed peas to please the entire family took some experimenting. This is what I finally settled on. No matter what, I make sure everyone gets at least a bite of it every January 1st! Happy New Year and Good Luck!
Ingredients
1 lb. of dried black-eyed peas
2 ham hocks, smoked
2 medium onions
3 large cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 cup of converted long-grain white rice
10 oz. of Ro-Tel tomatoes with chilies, juices reserved
1 large red bell pepper, finely diced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, minced
2 tsp. of Creole seasoning
3/4 tsp. of dried thyme leaves
3/4 tsp. of ground cumin
3/4 tsp. of salt
3 scallions, sliced
Tabasco
Directions
In a large pot, combine black-eyed peas, ham hocks, and 6 cups of water
Cut onion in half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaves
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy (around 1.5-2.5 hours)
Remove the hocks, cut off the meat in large shreds, and set the meat aside
Drain the peas and set aside
Remove and discard the bay leaves, onion, and garlic
Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil
Add rice, cover, and simmer until rice is almost tender, about 12 minutes
Mince the remaining onion
Add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, bell pepper, celery, jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt
Cook until rice is tender, about 5-7 minutes
Stir in the sliced scallions and meat from the ham hocks
Serve with Tabasco on the side