*  Exported from  MasterCook  *
 
                       Hoppin' John (Craig Claiborne)
 
 Recipe By     : Craig Claiborne’s Southern Cooking, 1987, p. 187
 Serving Size  : 6    Preparation Time :0:00
 Categories    : Holiday                          Southern
 
   Amount  Measure       Ingredient -- Preparation Method
 --------  ------------  --------------------------------
      1/8  pound         streaky bacon or salt pork -- cut into small
 cubes
                         (about 1/2 cup)
      1/3  cup           diced carrot
      1/2  cup           celery -- finely chopped
      2/3  cup           onion -- finely chopped
   10      ounces        fresh or frozen black-eyed peas
    1      clove         garlic -- whole
    2 3/4  cups          water (approximately)
    6      sprigs        fresh thyme
    1                    bay leaf
                         salt to tase -- optional
      1/4  teaspoon      dried hot red pepper flakes
    1      cup           rice
    2      tablespoons   butter
 					
                         GARNISHES
    1                    ripe tomato -- cored
      1/4  pound         sharp cheddar cheese -- finely grated
           cup           scallion (including green part) -- finely
 chopped
 
 Put the bacon or salt pork in a saucepan and cook, stirring often, until
 all the cubes are crisp.  Add the carrots, celery, and onion and cook,
 stirring, about 1 minute.  Add the peas, garlic, about 1-1/4 cup water,
 or to barely cover, thyme, bay leaf, salt and red pepper flakes.  Bring
 to the boil and let simmer, uncovered, 30 to 40 minutes, until tender
 but not mushy.  Romove from heat.  Put the rice in a saucepan and add
 1-1/2 cups water and salt to taste.  Bring to the boil and let simmer,
 covered 17 miutes.  Stir in the butter.  (Or, cook the rice as you
 normally would).   Cut the unpeeled tomato into 1/4-inch cubes;  there
 should be about 1 cup.    Arrange the hot rice in the center of a
 platter.  Spon the hot pea mixture, including liquid over the rice. 
 Scatter the cheese over  the peas.  Place tomato cubes around the rice. 
 Scatter the scallions over the tomatoes.  Serve immediately.
 
                    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
 
 NOTES : From the book:  Black-eye or black-eyed peas seem to figure
 ubiquitously on Southern tables, and Yankee visitors seem to look at
 them askance.  They are not necessarily country fare, as many people
 claim them to be.  They appear on the table of rich and poor, the
 educated and the uneducated alike, and are eaten with equal enthusiasm. 
 They are the basis of a dish known as Hoppin' John, the origin of which
 name no one seems to be able to explain.  The dish is....one of the most
 traditional of Southern dishes.  It is served in many Southern homes on
 New Year’s Day to bring all those assembled good luck throughout the
 year.   This is a modernized version demonstrated for me by Bill Neal, a
 fine young North Carolina chef.  
 Lou Parris
 12/96

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