Diversity Recipes

Ethnicity/Geography:	African American
Food:	Main Dishes/Casseroles
Brief Description:	Family Recipe from Burch's Restaurant, Richmond, VA
Recipe Name:	Hopping John
Ingredients:	1 lb dried black-eyed peas 2 smoked ham hocks 3 C uncooked converted long-grain white rice 6 C chicken broth 2 lbs smoked sausage-sautéed and sliced 1/2 lb bacon -- cut into small pieces 2 medium onions 3 cloves garlic, large 2 bay leaves 3/4 t salt 1 large red bell pepper, finely diced 1 large green bell pepper, finely diced 3 ribs celery, diced 1 t red pepper flakes Sprig of fresh thyme or 1/4 to 1/2 t dried thyme, optional 1/2 C chopped parsley 3 scallions, sliced 1/4 t red pepper flakes
Directions:	Pick over the black-eyed peas carefully, removing any bits of rock and unsavory-looking peas. Rinse well and cover with 5 cups of water. Soak for at least four hours before proceeding with the rest of the recipe. Strain out the beans & pour off water (reduces gas). Add fresh water to cover peas plus bay leaf, ham hocks and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer gently until the beans are tender but not mushy, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Drain the peas and set aside. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Reserve ham hocks for serving with final preparation. Cook rice in chicken broth until all liquid is absorbed and rice is perfectly cooked. While the peas and rice are cooking, prepare the bacon by frying it until the pieces are crisp. Reserve these for later to add into peas when the rice is added. Sautee onion, sausage, red & green bell pepper, celery, garlic in the fat once the bacon has been removed, until it is translucent but not brown. Combine cooked rice, peas, bacon, sausage and other sautéed ingredients with thyme, parsley, red pepper flakes, scallions in a casserole dish then cover lightly with foil. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees and cook for another hour. Fluff the mixture and serve immediately with hot pepper sauce or pepper vinegar. Pass around a platter of cornbread and a bowl of cooked collard greens.
Recipe Source:
Submitted by:	Dave Burch
Email Address:	Dave.burch@lmco.com
Comments :	Why do they call it Hopping John? The dish appears to have African, or African-American roots, as the black-eyed pea is the seed of the cowpea, a delicacy in North Africa. Beyond any doubt, black slaves introduced the famous "pea" pilau on the rice plantations of the South Carolina low country, and it's closely related to common African and West Indian concoctions. Carolina cooks put their stamp on hoppin' John through local ingredients, particularly the field peas, seasonings, and pork. According to a 1788 account, the food on slave ships was a combination of fava beans, yams, rice and possibly a bit of pork or other meat. When they got to America and were able to substitute black-eyed peas for the "horse beans" the slave traders served them, the Africans improved on the dish and it became popular. Southerners sometimes put a bit of collard greens or cabbage into the Hoppin' John and serve it with cornbread, saying the peas stand for coins, the greens for cash and the cornbread for gold, all of which will come if this is the first thing eaten in the New Year. Virginians are known for adding tomatoes, "for health." Some say this custom of something or someone bringing good luck at the very start of the New Year is an ancient British custom called First Footing.

T = Tablespoon, t = teaspoon, C = cup, lb = pound, oz = ounce, pkg = package.

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