Hoppin' John

There’s no reason why hoppin’ john can’t be vegetarian. Use vegetable stock and season with some smoked paprika. Black eyed peas from Ranch Gordo are the bean of choice in my house for hoppin’ john.

No need to add fake vegetarian/vegan "meat" - just saute some onion, garlic and chili pepper flakes in olive oil before you add the peas and water/vegetable stock. Poor folks - White and Black - often cook dried beans or peas without meat because they cannot afford it, not because they abhor meat. Dried beans or peas cooked without any meat is a staple of Mexico as well.

A very nice recipe but one improvement . Make your rice separately . After making the pea mixture strain the sauce . Add 1 cup to the dutch oven with pea mixture and keep warm. Reserve the sauce . Then cook rice for 3 minutes in 2 TBS of oil of choice . T Add two cups of cooking liquid from reserved sauce then bring to a boil and simmer covered for 15 minutes . After cooking add rice to pea mix and add 1/4 cup of reserved broth from pea mix til your desired consistency is arrived at.

My southern mother made black-eyed peas, ham, mustard greens and corn bread religiously every New Year’s Day. After her six kids were grown, she called each of us to make sure we’d had a bite of each to insure robust health, prosperity and good fortune throughout the year. I make a version of this meal every January 1st for my family and though my mother has been gone for twenty years, I’ll anticipate hearing the phone ring all day long.

Don't overlook that these foods were needed as "fuel" to run the human engine for hard physical labor. This version is lacking in fat that was easier to get the calories needed for a hard days work for people who could not afford meat. Want to be healthy and respect? Use a bit of vegetable or olive oil. It makes the peas silken in texture and gives the entire dish a sense of luxury from paupers ingredients. Heaven on earth.

Delicious. I did cook the rice separately (with a few fresh bay leaves) as I enjoy the textural difference between the grains and peas and the heady aroma the bay leaves provide the rice. I also whirred about a cup of the cooked peas with an immersion blender, stirred them back into the pot for a silky finish. I look forward to enjoying these with friends tomorrow!

Turned out pretty mushy. I have been cooking black eyed peas for decades so I know how not to overcook. This one was flavored beautifully but consistency just didn’t work out. Cooking rice separately is a better technique for me personally. Also, I never soak. Black eyes are much more fragile than dried beans.

I have used Sea Island Red Peas from Anson Mills in place of the Black Eyed peas. The result is magical.

Crucial addition: raw onions on top. Trust me.

My husband's parents were both from Lubbock, Texas, and black-eyed peas were a (dreaded) New Year's tradition. Today my husband finished his peas and said, "I think those are the best black-eyed peas I've ever eaten." And I made them vegan! Any recipe that causes a girl from Chicago to out cook a Texan at a southern staple is a recipe worth keeping. Thanks!

don't forget the collard greens!

Totally agree with commenter Martha, they can be vegetarian, I like to simmer the black eyed peas in dashi to add umami in place of the salt pork

Make your rice separately . After making the pea mixture strain the sauce . Add 1 cup to the dutch oven with pea mixture and keep warm. Reserve the sauce . Then cook rice for 3 minutes in 2 TBS of oil of choice . T Add two cups of cooking liquid from reserved sauce then bring to a boil and simmer covered for 15 minutes . After cooking add rice to pea mix and add 1/4 cup of reserved broth from pea mix til your desired consistency

1/4 teaspoon each of Burlap and Barrel Cobanero Chili flakes, Smoked Pimenton Paprika, and Smoked Chipotle flakes gives the dish extra kick, depth and lots of flavor without the pork. Good spices are a vegetarian's best friend. +1 on the Rancho Gordo BEP. Happy New Year, everyone!

Every year I look for a recipe for black eyed peas to make for New Year's Day. Typically, they're ok - bland but edible. This time, I finally found a recipe I'll repeat year after year. This is very simple but somehow so delicious! Maybe it's the rice, or probably all the bacon fat (which I drained about half of), but wow this is tasty. I made the recipe as-is and wouldn't change a thing.