Hoppin’ John

Ingredients

  • one 16-ounce package of dried black-eyed peas
  • one large can of tomatoes
  • one large onion
  • one green pepper
  • three sticks celery
  • three carrots
  • 1/4 cabbage
  • four to five tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable seasoning such as Mrs. Dash
  • one tablespoon garlic salt

Directions

Soak beans overnight. Drain.  Simmer beans in enough water to cover them for about four hours or until done.  Remove the core from the cabbage, and peel and chop all the vegetables. Heat olive oil in a six-quart, dutch-oven pot. Add the chopped vegetables to the olive oil and cook, with the lid on, for about ten minutes or until the cabbage is soft, stirring the vegetables occasionally.

After the vegetables are “sweated,” add the vegetable seasoning and salt and cook for a few more minutes to create a flavor base. Add the canned tomatoes. Heat to a simmer. Add the cooked beans and their liquid.  Heat again to a simmer and then turn off the heat.  The beans are done.

Serve with sparkling cider or sparkling grape juice and homemade cornbread with butter or soy margarine and honey.

Delicious, nutritious and a lucky charm. Eat all that is humanly possible for the beans are said to bring you money in the coming year. The more you eat, the more money you get.

Leftovers may be served over steamed rice and the dish sprinkled with chopped chives.

Another way of serving leftovers is to stir in some sliced vegetarian hot dogs to create a smoked taste.

Food Lore

The custom of eating black-eyed peas, which were used as animal fodder rather than human fare in the Middle East is said to have originated with the Jewish people when they were in bondage in Egypt.  Later the custom was adopted by the the Black people who were enslaved in the American South. 

Black-eyed peas need to be carefully spiced to bring out their delicious flavors while downplaying their earthy aftertaste.  This recipe does the trick and we have had this dish nearly every year since I invented it in 1993.

And yes, my Hoppin’ John does seem to bring us a little extra baksheesh during the year.  Cooking a nice pot of Hoppin’ John has become my New Year’s Day tradition.