Hoppin’ John

10 Servings
Total cost NY $ 12.17
Cost per serving NY $ 1.22


Welcome 2010! Hoppin’ John is a traditional Southern dish that, if eaten at the beginning of the New Year, is supposed to bring good luck in the coming year. Well, we can all use a little bit of THAT in the coming year, yes? So, sayonara 2009! Here’s your hat, what’s your hurry? Dig into some of this tasty bean dish, and lift your fork to a healthier and happier New Year for all!*


And, if we keep eating dishes that are this budget-friendly, it can’t help but be a more prosperous one. This recipe, unlike more modern iterations of this dish, goes old school and calls for water instead of stock. I often find myself annoyed by the over-reliance on chicken and vegetable stock in recipes these days. Yes, it adds flavor, but unless you’re making your own (and frankly, I doubt most home cooks do this) you’re jacking up the cost, in some cases needlessly. And some of the commercial stocks end up being little more than salted water with strange chemicals, mysterious ingredients and a ton of sodium. So this recipe uses just plain old water, from the tap. I hope you’ll agree that it still has plenty of flavor.


Ingredients

• 1 lb dried black eyed peas (NY $1.79)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (staple)
• 1 turkey kielbasa sausage (NY $5.79)
• 1 yellow onion (NY $0.79)
• 1 green pepper (NY $0.83)
• 3 stalks celery (NY $1.39 for one bunch)
• 1 tsp hot sauce (such as Tabasco) (staple)
• 1 tsp dried thyme (staple)
• 1 bay leaf (staple)
• 3 cups water (staple)
• ½ cup chopped parsley (NY $0.79 for one bunch)
• 1 bunch scallions (NY $0.79)
• Salt and pepper (staple)

Directions

Soak beans overnight, or using the quick soak method.

Slice kielbasa into coins, and chop onion, pepper and celery.


Rinse out the pot you soaked the beans in, and warm olive oil over medium heat until fragrant. Sear kielbasa until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes, then add chopped vegetables. Continue cooking another 5 minutes or so, until vegetables have softened slightly. Add soaked beans along with thyme, bay leaf, hot sauce and water.


Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and continue cooking stirring occasionally about 40 minutes longer, or until beans softened and are creamy and tender. Add scallions and parsley, and continue cooking about 2 minutes longer. Season to taste. Serve over rice and, if desired, garnish with additional parsley and hot sauce.


* Speaking of healthier . . . you may have been wondering where we’ve been all these months. Without going into too much details, I’ve been having some health issues that had me on a very restricted bland food diet for awhile there. (The LBUH has taken to calling himself “for poorer” and me “in sickness.) All of which made running a food blog pretty challenging. Unless, that is, you’d be interested in reading recipes like “Boil egg noodles in water according to package directions. Optional: garnish with salt.” No? I didn’t think so.


Nutritional Facts

Calories 213.1	Sugars 5.2 g	Folate 4.1 %
Total Fat 7.4 g	Protein 6.8 g	Iron 11.9 %
Saturated Fat 2.6 g	Vitamin A 28.2 %	Magnesium 2.0 %
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2 g	Vitamin B-12 0.0 %	Manganese 5.0 %
Monounsaturated Fat 1.0 g	Vitamin B-6 3.5 %	Niacin 1.0 %
Cholesterol 7.5 mg	Vitamin C 33.7 %	Phosphorus 1.6 %
Sodium 408.1 mg	Vitamin D 0.0 %	Riboflavin 1.3 %
Potassium 121.1 mg	Vitamin E 1.9 %	Selenium 0.4 %
Total Carbohydrate 31.5 g	Calcium 18.8 %	Thiamin 1.8 %
Fiber 7.5 g	Copper 1.9 %	Zinc 0.8 %