Ensure Your Luck In New Year By Serving Hoppin' John

TAMPA BAY, FL — In the South, eating Hoppin' John (black-eyed peas and rice) on New Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck. The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls.

The origin of this New Year's tradition is a mystery. The first historical mention of Hoppin' John appeared in Frederick Law Olmsted's travel journal, A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States, published in 1846. The passage describes Hoppin' John as a meal consisting of rice, cow peas and bacon, eaten and enjoyed as a luxury by slaves.

The following year, a recipe for Hoppin' John appeared in The Carolina Housewife.

But the dish is believed to have originated in 1841 when a crippled black man known as Hoppin' John would sell cow peas and rice to people on the streets of Charleston, South Carolina.

One theory is that black-eyed peas originated in West Africa and were transported to North America during the slave trade where they were a cherished reminder of home.

However, the name came about, most food historians agree that Hoppin' John is an American dish with African, French and Caribbean roots.

There are several variations of the dish. Some cooks make it with ham hock, country sausage or sliced bacon.

In New Orleans, you'll find a Cajun version of the dish made with Andouille sausage.

In the Low Country of South Carolina, it's made with field peas, a smaller version of black-eyed peas.

And, in Georgia, it's often served with collard, mustard or turnip greens and accompanied by corn bread.

This is the recipe I grew up eating. It was passed down from my great-grandmother who grew up in South Carolina.

Ingredients:

1-pound bag of dried black-eyed peas soaked overnight and rinsed

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 bell pepper seeded and chopped

2 stalks celery chopped

1 smoked ham hock

1 pound (16 ounces) of smoked sausage sliced into 1/4-inch slices

4 cups of chicken broth

1 can (10 to 14.5 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles, undrained

1 dried bay leaf

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

6 cups hot cooked white rice

Instructions:

• Sort and rinse peas. Soak peas in enough water to cover at least 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain and rinse soaked peas; set aside.
• In 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven, cook sausage over medium heat until done. Drain well on paper towels. Pour fat from pan, and wipe interior with paper towel to remove any residual fat.
• Heat oil over medium heat in the Dutch oven. Add onion, pepper and celery; sauté about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add garlic; sauté about 2 minutes or until fragrant.
• Add ham hock, sausage, broth, tomatoes, salt, pepper, thyme and bay leaf. Heat to boiling.
• Reduce heat to simmer; stir in soaked peas. Cook 50 to 60 minutes or until peas are tender.
• Remove and discard bay leaf. Remove ham hock. Remove ham from bone and shred. Return to the Dutch oven.
• Serve over hot cooked rice.

Variations: Add chopped turnip greens to the mix or spice up the recipe with some jalapenos.