New Year's Hoppin' John Recipe With Black Eyed Peas
Try Your Luck With Hoppin' John Soup
When the revelry of New Year's Eve has come and gone, it'll be time for me to draw up that list of New Year's resolutions. I don't know about you, but with the list of changes I'm vowing to make this year, I'm going to need any good fortune I can get. That's why I'm enlisting the help of hoppin' John.
A New Year's fixture on every Southern table, this mélange of black-eyed peas, ham, onions, and rice is said to bring prosperity to anyone who eats it. Blackeyeds, as they're called in the South, are symbolic of coins and affluence; collard greens, with their leaves the color of currency, are another. Supposedly, more pork also means more luck — but that might just be an excuse to enjoy more of the pig.
When New Year's arrives this time around, consider passing the day with a comforting pot of hoppin' John soup. It makes a ton, which means, presumably, that you'll have plenty of luck to go around in the next dozen months. See the recipe when you read more. From Saveur
Ingredients 1 lb. dried black-eyed peas Directions Serves 8 to 10.
Hoppin' John Soup
1 smoked ham bone or two hocks
1⁄4 cup canola oil
1⁄2 cup finely chopped cooked ham
1⁄4 tsp. red chile flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 lb. collard greens, ribs removed, leaves roughly chopped
2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
Kosher salt and freshly ground
black pepper, to taste
5 cups cooked long-grain white rice
Chopped scallions, for garnish
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