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New Year's: My Hoppin' John

Source of Recipe


Adapted from "Beans, Greens & Sweet Georgia Peaches"



List of Ingredients



• 2 cups dried black-eyed peas, cowpeas, or crowder peas
  
• ½ pound lean salt-cured pork or one country ham hock
  
• Vegetable oil, if needed
  
• 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 2 ribs celery, diced
  
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  
• 1 whole pod red pepper, preferably cayenne
  
• 1 Bouquet Garni, made with a healthy sprig each of fresh parsley, mint, thyme, a leafy celery top, and 2 bay leaves
  
• Whole black pepper in a peppermill
  
• Salt
  
• 1 cup raw rice, washed and rinsed
  
• 10 to 12 fresh mint leaves
  






Instructions



1. Sort the peas to remove any stones and blemished peas, wash and drain them, and put them in a nonreactive bowl that will hold more than twice their volume. Add enough cold (preferably soft) water to cover them by 2 inches and soak the peas for 6 hours or overnight.
   
   
2. Put the peas into a large pot with their soaking liquid and enough water to completely cover them by at least 1 inch. Do not add salt. Bring it slowly to a boil over medium heat, carefully skimming off the scum as it rises. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer, cover, and simmer for half an hour.
   
   
3. Put the salt pork or ham hock in an iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, turning frequently, until 2 tablespoons of fat are rendered from it. (If it's lean and not much fat comes out of it right away, add a little vegetable oil to help it brown and keep it from sticking, then supplement the rendered fat with more oil as needed. Remove the pork, add the onion and celery, and sauté them until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant but not colored, about half a minute. Add this to the peas along with the pork, hot pepper pod, bouquet garni, and a liberal grinding of pepper. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring it back to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook gently until the peas are tender, about 1 hour.
   
   
4. Taste the peas and correct for salt. If the pork is very salty, they may not need any. But keep in mind that the broth must be highly seasoned in order to flavor the rice. Take up to 2 cups of the broth into a separate pot and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Add the rice, bring it back to a boil, and reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Cover loosely and simmer for 12 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, cover it tightly, and let it sit for a minute to build steam inside the pot. Then turn off the heat and move the pot to a warm spot to let it steam for another 12 to 15 minutes.
   
   
5. When the rice is ready, remove and discard the pepper pod and bouquet garni, and drain the remaining broth from the peas, but don't discard it. Fluff the rice with a fork and gently mix in the peas, tossing them with the fork rather than stirring. If the hoppin' John is too dry, add a little of the reserved broth. If you like, you can remove the lean meat from the salt pork or ham hock, chop it, and stir it into the hoppin' John. Just before serving, cut the mint leaves into fine slivers and sprinkle them over the hoppin' John. Don't do this ahead, or the residual heat will turn it brown.
   
   Serves 4 to 6
   
   






Final Comments


If you don't have fresh thyme or oregano, substitute ½ teaspoon each of dried herbs. If fresh mint isn't available, add ½ teaspoon of crumbled dried mint in Step 3 and garnish the finished hoppin' John with 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley.