greens are lucky New Year food
This is a repeat from my Holiday Food Traditions WFD from 2014. I have found no reason to mess with the recipe.
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Special foods for New Year's differ around the world but pretty much all share the idea that some foods will encourage luck or prosperity for the coming year.
The six major categories of auspicious foods are grapes, greens, fish, pork, legumes, and cakes...Cooked greens, including cabbage, collards, kale, and chard, are consumed at New Year's in different countries for a simple reason — their green leaves look like folded money, and are thus symbolic of economic fortune... Legumes including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind... In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john.
My family isn’t from the south and I don’t remember why I started cooking it for New Year’s. Maybe it was my late wife’s idea, but her family isn’t from the south either. I don’t care now, I cook it because I like it. Does it bring luck? My prosperity is nothing to brag about, but things could easily have been worse.
I have kale and chard growing in the garden so I can have some lucky greens too.
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Hoppin’ John
from Joy of Cooking, 1997 edition — about 8 servings
1/2 lb dried black-eyed peas
3 cups water
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tb minced garlic (optional)
1/4 lb smoked ham, diced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
salt and black pepper to taste
~1 cup chicken stock
2 tb butter
2 to 4 slices bacon, diced
1-1/2 cups long grain rice
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley (or more to taste)
Ideally you have a heavy 3 or 4-quart ovensafe pot or stovetop-safe casserole, so you can use that one pot for all the steps.
Rinse peas, put in a heavy pot, add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil, boil for 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover, let stand for 1-1/2 hours.
Drain and rinse peas and return to the pot. Add 3 cups water, onion, garlic, jam, thyme, red pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer until peas are just tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Season the peas and ham mixture with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set aside.
Let the pea liquid settle for 5 minutes, then pour into a 4-cup measure, discarding the residue at the bottom. Add enough chicken stock to make 2-3/4 cups. Preheat oven to 325F.
Heat the pot over medium heat, add the butter and bacon. Cook until the bacon fat is mostly rendered and the bacon is starting to crisp. Add the rice and 1 tsp salt and stir 1 minute to coat the grains with fat. Add the pea liquid and bring to a simmer; stir once with a fork, cover, and bake until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, 20 to 25 minutes. Scatter the peas and ham over the top, cover, bake 5 more minutes. Add the minced parsley and toss lightly with a fork until the rice is fluffed and all ingredients are mixed. Cover and let stand 10 to 30 minutes before serving. [I use at least ½ cup of parsley to lighten the texture of the dish.]
Hoppin' John can be made 1 day ahead, covered, and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature, then bake, covered and without stirring, in a 275F oven just until warmed through.
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Per tradition I will be cooking this Monday; actually for dinner tonight is leftover baked rigatoni that I cooked last night. What’s for dinner at your place? Will you be cooking Hoppin’ John on the First?
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