Hoppin' John: A Simple Version
Not Exactly Hoppin' John
Hoppin' John is a Southern Dish that has many interpretations. (Read about the history of Hoppin' John here: "Who is Hoppin' John?".) The recipe usually has more ingredients than my version here, such as bacon. I guess you can call mine a vegetarian recipe--it has no meat at all. Since all of the traditional ingredients weren't included, I had to name it: "Not Exactly Hoppin' John." I've been known to simply toss some peas & rice together with a little butter and hot sauce and call that Hoppin' John, too, but this one includes a couple of extra ingredients.
"Not Exactly Hoppin' John" is a recipe that's so fast and easy to prepare, you'll blink and it will be done. Okay, maybe that is an exaggeration, but it really is fast. This one was a double victory because the ingredients were leftovers from two other meals: the rice pilaf and the black-eyed peas. It may not have come to fruition at all but we were having a surprise guest for supper and we needed one more side dish for the supper table. This recipe was prepared using leftovers.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked white rice
- 1-1 1/2 cups cooked black-eyed peas, drained
- 1/8 cup onion (small dice)
- 1/8 cup bell pepper (small dice)
- 1 Tablespoon cooking oil
- Salt and pepper, to your taste
- Two drops, Tabasco Sauce
- Saute onion and bell pepper in a 1 quart saucepan until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add rice, toss until incorporated.
- Add peas, toss until incorporated.
- Season with salt & pepper and 2 drops of Tabasco Sauce. If you love Tabasco Sauce, use as much as you want.
- Enjoy your "Not Exactly Hoppin' John!"
Additional Tips for This Recipe
It's okay to use canned peas for this recipe, but be sure to drain them in a colander and rinse them in running water first. I just happened to have some leftover black-eyed peas. They were of the frozen variety since we didn't have any available from the garden.
Serve Not Exactly Hoppin' John with Beautiful Baked Chicken
- Beautiful Baked Chicken
This beautiful baked chicken recipe is a cross between roasted chicken and baked chicken. The recipe earned its name because of the results you get when you use this method to bake your chicken: incredibly moist chicken!
