home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
- Path: sparky!uunet!think.com!ames!saimiri.primate.wisc.edu!usenet.coe.montana.edu!Msu.oscs.montana.edu!alisg
- From: alisg@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
- Subject: RECIPE: Hoppin John
- Message-ID: <009658ED.D6647680@Msu.oscs.montana.edu>
- Sender: usenet@coe.montana.edu (USENET News System)
- Reply-To: alisg@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
- Organization: Montana State University
- Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 15:28:23 GMT
- Lines: 46
-
- Someone recently asked, and I don't recall seeing a response. Here is a version
- of the old soul food dish Hoppin' John, taken without permission from a
- wonderful cookbook called _The Black Family Reunion Cookbook_, available from
- your friendly neighborhood bookstore or from the Wimmer Companies
- (1-800-727-1034) of Memphis, Tennessee.
-
- HOPPIN' JOHN
-
- 6 C. water
- 1 lb. black-eyed peas (AKA field peas, cowpeas)
- 1 C. cubed salt pork, rinsed
- 1 large green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 lb. bag mahatma rice
- salt and pepper
-
- 1. Combine water and black-eyed peas in large saucepan. Cook until almost
- tender, about one hour.[It isn't necessary to soak these, but you can; adjust
- cooking time if you do.] Add more water if needed.
-
- 2. Brown salt pork in medium skillet on medium heat. Add green pepper, onion,
- garlic, cumin, and thyme. Stir and cook until browned. Add tomato paste and
- chili powder. Stir. Add a little water. Stir. Pour into beans. Add rice. Stir.
- Add enough water to cover by 1.5 inches. Cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
- Simmer 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
-
- 6 to 8 servings.
-
- Commentary: While this sounds wonderful, it is considerably more elaborate than
- the version of hoppin' john I knew growing up. In my mother's version (which my
- brother Robert made an absolute pig of himself over), it was simply black-eyed
- peas cooked her usual way (with a couple pieces of bacon or a bit of fatty ham)
- over separately cooked rice. Not nearly as involved, but perhaps not as good,
- either. I plan to try this on New Year's Day myself, so we'll see.
-
- Thanks to one and all for the recipes, commentary (Shankar, you are a marvelous
- source of unusually well-written insights!), and laughs over the past year. I
- hope you all have a safe and joyous holiday season.
-
- george
- alisg@trex.oscs.montana.edu
-