Hoppin' John

In earlier centuries, people sent

New Year's postcards to offer good luck

wishes; the cards commonly depicted a

pig to represent prosperity.

How Hoppin' John evolved from a simple slave dish to a modern-day New Year's institution in the South is unclear. But somehow this humble concoction of stewed black-eyed peas, pork, and rice has come to represent good luck for the year to come.

The dish was a staple of slaves in the Carolinas, where African bean stews (also found in the Caribbean) met the local American rice industry and came together. Possibly the earliest appearance of the dish by the name Hopping John was in 1846 in a cookbook called The Carolina Housewife. No one knows for sure how the name originated, but one reasonable suggestion is that it's a corruption of the French-Caribbean words pois à pigeon (or pigeon pea, a relative of the black-eyed pea), which when said out loud sounds like PWAH-PEE-JOHN.

The symbolism of the peas is all-important here. In many cultures, beans and other legumes are thought to bring good luck because of their resemblance to coins (which means the promise of wealth). Pigs too are lucky, because they symbolize prosperity. So if you cook up a prosperous pig in the pot with some coin-like peas, you've got it made. (And to play it absolutely safe, you should serve collard greens on the side, because they symbolize green, folding money. Or add collard greens to the dish; see Super-Lucky Hoppin' John below.)

New Year's Good-Luck Food from Around the World
Foods like Hoppin' John guarantee good luck for the coming year, but see what other countries consider their good luck foods for the turn of the year.

Holland: doughnuts
Japan: soba noodles
Germany: marzipan pigs
Italy: sausage and lentils
Spain: grapes, 12 of them, one at each stroke of the clock at midnight
Sicily: lasagna
Norway: rice pudding (with one lucky almond hidden in it)
Greece: St. Basil's cake (a sweet yeast bread with a coin baked inside)

Hoppin' John

Makes 10 servings

There are dozens of interpretations of this classic New Year's Day dish, both regional and personal. There are also differences of opinion on the best way to prepare it. Do you cook the rice with the peas or separately? Is it a stew or a soup? We have chosen to cook the rice with the peas, and we shaded the dish toward soupy so that you have "pot likker" to mop up with your corn bread.

1 pound dried black-eyed peas
1 small smoked ham hock (about 1/2 pound)
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
10 cups water
1/2 pound fresh chorizo sausage or Italian hot sausage
1 cup rice
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sliced scallions (6 to 7)
1 large red bell pepper, diced

1. Soak the black-eyed peas in water to cover by 2 inches. Drain well.
2. In a large pot, combine the drained black-eyed peas, ham hock, bay leaves, garlic, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a high simmer, partially cover, and cook until the peas are almost tender, about 45 minutes
3. Meanwhile, prick the sausages in several places with a fork. Fill a medium skillet with about 1/8 inch water. Add the sausages and bring a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the sausages until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Set them aside and discard the cooking juices. When cool enough to handle, cut into 1/2-inch dice.
4. Add the sausages, rice, and salt to the pot of black-eyed peas, re-cover, and cook until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes. About 10 minutes before the rice is done, stir in the scallions and bell pepper. If desired, pull off any meat from the ham hocks and add to the pot. Discard the bay leaves.

Super-Lucky Hoppin' John: Replace the scallions with a diced sweet onion; replace the red pepper with a yellow pepper. Add 6 cups finely shredded collard greens when you add the rice. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice just before serving.

[This article first appeared in the January/February 2007 issue of Hallmark Magazine.]