Hoppin’ John
Hoppin’ John is my family’s New Years Day tradition. It has black eyed peas, serrano peppers, rice, tomatoes, mushrooms, and olives; all stewed to amazingness! Serve it on New Years Day for good luck with cornbread and green onions.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8-10 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb black eyed peas, rinsed and soaked for 4 hours or overnight
- 1 ham hock
- 6–7 c water, more as needed
- 1 tsp salt, more to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 serrano peppers, seeds removed and finely diced (use 1 Serrano for less heat)
- 2–28 oz cans stewed tomatoes
- 6 oz jar of mushrooms, drained
- 4 oz can sliced black olives, drained
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 c instant rice
- Tabasco or your favorite hot sauce, for serving
- 1 bunch of green onions, chopped, for serving
- Cornbread, for serving
Instructions
On the Stove top:
- Start my soaking the beans for 4 hours or overnight. Give them a quick rinse, and then add them to a big stock pot with water, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1 large ham hock. Bring to a boil, and cook until the beans are just slightly soft; ~30-40 minutes. Stir frequently and add water as needed so the beans don’t get stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- In a separate sauté pan, heat a little olive oil. Sauté the onion and serrano for 4-6 minutes, until soft, and add to the pot of beans. (If you are making into two batches, separate the beans now so that you can make one batch spicy and one batch mild).
- Remove the ham hock from the pot; discard. *See notes
- Now add stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, black olives, and red pepper flakes. Test level of salt, and add more if needed. Simmer for 30 minutes or so. Make sure it doesn’t get too dried out, so add a little chicken broth or water along the way if needed. You always want ~1/2 inch of liquid on top when its not boiling.
- Now add instant rice and cook until rice is soft.
- Serve warm with green onions, cornbread, and tabasco.
Notes:
Some people like to shred the meat of the ham hock and add to the pot of beans, but it’s my personal preference not to use the meat and discard the entire ham hock after it’s added flavor to the beans.
Find it online: https://www.tippsinthekitch.com/hoppin-john/
