Sons of Confederate Veterans Col. Isaac Williams ... - Scvportland.org

Volume 3, Issue 3
Page 5
Southern Cookin’: Hoppin’ John
In different parts of the South different beans will predominate the kitchen table. In many parts of the South blackeyed
peas are a staple, though in some areas they’re just an annual tradition eaten on New Year’s Day. This same dish is
commonly known as “Skippin’ Jenny” the day after New Years Day.
Hoppin’ John
• 1 pound dried black-eyed peas
• 2 small smoked ham hocks or meaty ham bone
• 2 medium onions, divided
• 3 large cloves garlic, halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 cup long-grain white rice
• 1 can (10 to 14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with
chili peppers, juices reserved
• 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
• 2 teaspoons Cajun or Creole seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 Sliced green onions
PREPARATION:
In a large Dutch oven or kettle, combine the black-eyed peas, ham bone or ham hocks, and 6 cups water. Cut 1 of the onions in
half and add it to the pot along with the garlic and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently
until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Remove the ham bone or hocks, cut off the meat; dice and set aside.
Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaf, onion pieces, and garlic.
Add 2 1/2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add the rice, cover, and simmer until the rice is almost tender, about 10 to
12 minutes.
Mince the remaining onion then add to the rice along with the peas, tomatoes, and their juices, red and green bell pepper, celery,
jalapeno pepper, Creole seasoning, thyme, cumin, and salt. Cook until the rice is tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in the sliced green
onions and the reserved diced ham. Serve with hot sauce and freshly baked cornbread.
Hoppin' John is the Southern United States' version of the rice and beans dish traditional throughout the Caribbean. It consists
of field peas or Crowder peas (black-eyed peas) and rice, with chopped onion and sliced bacon, seasoned with a bit of
salt. Some people substitute ham hock or fatback for the conventional bacon; a few use green peppers or vinegar and
spices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in the Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia; black-eyed
peas are the norm elsewhere. Throughout the coastal South, eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a
year filled with luck, and it's eaten by everyone. The peas, or beans with little black “eyes,” signify coins. Fill your plate
with them and your proverbial cup will runneth over. Collard greens along with this dish is suppose to also add to the wealth
since they are the color of money.
Variations of this dish are seen throughout the American South and the Caribbean, and the dish is believed to have been
typical slave food in early colonial times. The origins of the name are uncertain, one possibility is that the name is a corruption
of the French Creole term for black-eyed peas: pois pigeons. Another explanation has it that a Georgia land owner's
one-legged slave, John, hopped around the table as he served a meal of rice and black-eyed peas. The meal was so well
liked that it was named after him. The OED's first reference to the dish is from Frederick Law Olmsted's 19th Century
travelogue, A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States. "The greatest luxury with which they are acquainted is a stew of bacon
and peas, with red pepper, which they call ‘Hopping John’." There is also a recipe for Hopping John in The Carolina Housewife
by Sarah Rutledge, which was published in 1847.