Talking SCHOP! Hoppin’ John: A 2025 renaissance
Whatever you did or did not receive under the tree this year, I want you to breathe into knowing you ARE the gift …(take a beat and inhale that) … always and forever. Keep busting out of the thin wrapping paper we call “our bubble” every day like a jack-in-the-box and surprise yourself at what you can do. You are amazing!
Now that my 2025 mantra is out of the way, I can revisit a recipe shared annually in this, my last article of the year. In reviewing my archives, it has been eight years almost to the day since it was first published. With all that has occurred since 2016 (insert life here) and all that is about to happen, we can all cook in a little luck for 2025.
That’s right! For the first time in a spell, I present Hoppin’ John: The Renaissance!
I have updated the following recipe for myriad reasons, the most egregious of which is, where is the damn celery, Kysha?! Though what has remained is my recommendation for you to cook this with your heart and taste buds. Add more of an ingredient if the spirit moves you. It’s your luck at the end of the day. Get into it!
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6-8
INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups onion, diced
2 cups celery, diced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 pound smoked meat product – turkey wing, ham hock, or thick ham steak cut in half-inch pieces
1 pound dried black-eyed peas, rinsed and picked over
4 cups low sodium chicken stock, plus more if needed
2 bay leaves
2-3 stems of fresh thyme
cooked long grain rice prepared with chicken broth and butter
chopped scallion
hot sauce of choice
PREPARATION
- Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil, onion, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté for four minutes until onions are translucent. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and sauté for one minute until fragrant. Add the smoked meat product, black-eyed peas, stock, bay leaf and thyme. Bring the pot to a boil.
- Once the pot comes to a boil, taste for seasoning. Keep in mind the flavor will concentrate as it cooks so do not over salt. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the peas are creamy and tender. If the liquid evaporates, add more boiling water or stock, so as not to drop the temperature of the pot.
- Remove bay leaves and thyme stems and discard. If using a bone-in smoked meat product, remove it from the pot, remove the meat from the bone, chop into bite sized pieces if needed and add the meat back to the pot. Taste and readjust seasonings.
- Serve over cooked rice and garnish with scallions and hot sauce.
We all know Hoppin’ John is incomplete without his sister, Them Greens. I know you have a recipe for her. Pull her together in the process so they can play nice in your mouth and usher in the best new year ever.
I will see you on the other side. Until then, Happy New Year to all!
Happy eating and thanks for reading!
Kysha Harris is a chef, food writer and editor, culinary producer, consultant and owner of
SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for over 22 years. Follow her on Instagram,
@SCHOPnyc and on Facebook, @SCHOPnyc.
Questions, comments, requests, feedback, invitations! Email us at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @NYAmNewsFOOD.
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