Hoppin' John

The lowly black-eyed pea mixes and mingles with fluffy rice making for the perfect bowl of comfort!

Cook Time 2

Course Side Dishes, Soups and Stews

Servings 6 to 8 servings

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
8 slices bacon, sliced into pieces
4 stalks celery chopped, about 1-¾ cups
1 large sweet onion chopped, about 2 to 2-½ cups
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped, about 1-½ cups
4 teaspoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
8 cups chicken stock
2 packages fresh black-eyed peas, 12-ounces each, about 4 cups, rinsed and sorted
1-½ cups Basmati or Jasmine rice
Fresh parsley for garnish

In a large stockpot heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pieces of bacon and cook until the bacon renders its fat and just starts to crisp, about 10 to 12 minutes.
Add the chopped celery, sweet onion, bell pepper and garlic. Continue cooking over medium heat until the vegetables are soft, about 15 minutes.
Toss in the fresh thyme, kosher salt, pepper and Creole seasoning. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil.
Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the peas are very tender – about 45 minutes to one hour.
In a medium saucepan heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Stir in the rice and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes to lightly toast the rice.
Skim off 3 cups of the cooking stock and add to the rice. Cover the saucepan and reduce the heat to low. Cook the rice for 20 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed. When the rice is cooked fluff it with a fork.
Drain the remaining liquid from the cooked peas and add the cooked rice, about 1 cup at a time. You can add all the rice if you like more rice to peas, less if you like more peas. If you want more of a soup just leave the extra cooking stock in the pan.
Garnish with freshly chopped parsley.

You can reheat this dish in the oven by adding a bit of reserved cooking stock, cover and heat at 350 for about 30 to 40 minutes.