Hoppin' John!

When the weather gets warm and I start to see fresh peas at the market or when my grandmother starts to send me home with grocery bags full of the things to shell, I start to think about Hoppin' John.  It's the next best thing to grilling in the summertime because you basically put it in the pot and let it cook.  No oven use, no fuss, no time spent slaving over a hot stove.  And, oh man, it makes your house smell good!  You should smell my house right now.

For us, it is usually a main course just like the cornbread and butter beans we have for dinner so often, but it is most commonly served as a side.  Tonight we're having it with smoked chicken quarters from a whole smoked chicken that our neighbor just brought us.  Can't beat that!

I derived this recipe from that of my favorite southern cook, Frank Stitt.  I am still in love with his cookbook, Southern Table.  I kind of crack up when he recommends picking through the peas to remove the misshapen ones and using spring water, but hey, who am I to question his genius?  I am just not that uptight.  

Hoppin' John

1carrot

1 celery stalk

1 red onion

1 bay leaf

1 dried chile (such as arbol)

1 smoked ham hock or smoked pork neck bone

about 3 cups fresh or frozen peas (field, black-eyed, pink-eyed, crowder, etc)

1 cup jasmine or basmati rice

cherry tomatoes

fresh basil

2 scallion

olive oil

1 Sweetwater Road Trip (for the chef)

Rinse the peas.  Quarter the onion and halve the carrot and celery.  Place the peas in at least a 4-quart pot.  Add the ham hock or neck bone, onion, chile, bay leaf, carrot, celery and a good pinch of salt.  Cover everything with more than an inch of water.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Don't forget to skim the scum that floats to the top.  If you are using a ham hock, there will be a lot.  If you skip this step, this will be in your food. --->

Let simmer on very low heat until the peas are cooked to your liking.  Remove flavor components (onion and stuff) and strain peas, reserving the liquid and leaving them in just enough liquid to keep them moist.  Season the peas with salt and pepper.  Use 2 cups of cooking liquid to cook the rice.  

Here is where me and Stitt part ways.  This dish is usually served with the peas and juice spooned over the rice and garnished with tomatoes or chutney, but I like to mix it all together, kind of like a succotash.  Mix the peas with the rice and some quartered cherry tomatoes, sliced scallions and torn basil leaves.  Drizzle with olive oil.

When served like a succotash, this dish is good hot or cold.  Don't let the ham hock fool you, the flavors are bright and the dish is not heavy at all.  The variations on this dish are endless, depending on what you have on hand.  Today I have a left-over ear of corn that I cooked on the grill this weekend, so I'm going to add the kernels to the mix. I also threw a dried chipotle chile as well as an anaheim into the broth just because I had it.  This would make a good vegetarian dish, leaving off the pork and relying just on the aromatics to flavor the peas.

ate too much hoppin john