New Year’s Traditions From Home Made Just a Little More Healthy
Including a Receipt For Luck and Money in the New Year
Growing up in the American South immerses someone in a ton of traditions. Most, if not all, of those traditions are intertwined with subtraditions that involve food. Saturday college football is preceded by a tailgate with food right off the grill. Visiting grandma involves her cooking something she has deemed to be your favorite. New Year’s day involves collard greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread. Keep reading to find out why.
Another tradition around southern cooking involves taking food that is naturally healthy and doing everything in your power to make it unhealthy. A common conversation about cooking could go something like this:
Southerner A: Hey friend, I brought you some okra, collards, squash, and corn that I grew myself and picked fresh this morning.
Southerner B: Thank you! I will get some bacon, massive amounts of butter, and fire up the deep-fat fryer right away!
Before I offend anyone, for many of us fried food in moderation is probably ok. The key is how often is a moderate amount? That is a good conversation to have during coaching.
New Year’s Day in the South finds tables piled high with collard greens, black-eyed peas, and piping hot cornbread. The black-eyed peas are supposed to bring luck in the new year, the collards are to bring money, and the cornbread is delicious and on the plate to sop up the potlikker from the greens (potlikker is the juice from cooking greens and probably is supposed to be spelled “liquor”).
Now, a pile of black-eyed peas by itself on a plate is already quite unlucky. This is why in the Carolinas and around the South a dish called Hoppin’ John is found on the table. I’m not confident of the true origin of the dish or why it has such a bouncin’ name but the legend around South Carolina is that you could buy this mix of black-eyed peas, bacon, and onions from a one-legged man named John who sold it on the streets of downtown Charleston. I’d bet that John never knew that the dish was named for him since most Southerners wouldn’t deign to call him by that nickname to his face. But they might.
Since Hoppin’ John usually contains salted pork or bacon that would be a good place to start in trying to make the dish just a little bit more healthy. Over at the great food and wine blog Cooking Chat, David came up with a healthier version so that we don’t have to. Have it with another side of some collard greens (spinach or kale are just as good) and get ready for the money and luck to roll in. A plant-based version without the turkey bacon or the cheese will be just as delish!
The full post from Cooking Chat with more info and calculations for scaling portions can be found right here.
HEALTHIER HOPPIN’ JOHN
Hoppin’ John is a traditional Southern dish made with black-eyed peas. This healthy version uses turkey bacon used in place of pork. Often eaten New Year’s Day for good luck.
Author: Cooking Chat
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 30 mins
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Cuisine: Southern
INGREDIENTS
1 or 2 slices turkey bacon
2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 onion, chopped
1 yellow or red pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup low sodium chicken broth
½ tsp paprika
1 tsp dried thyme
½ tsp oregano
1 14 oz can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp honey
1 tsp smoked maple syrup (optional)
1 scallion, sliced
¼ cup grated cheddar cheese
2 cups or more cooked brown rice for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
Cook the turkey bacon: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan or large skillet. Add the turkey bacon, cook about 10 minutes until crisp, turning occasionally. Remove the bacon from the skillet and set aside to cool on a paper towel. Break the bacon into small bits when it is cool, and reserve for topping the Hoppin’ John.
Sauté onion: Wipe most of the excess grease from the pan–though there isn’t much with turkey bacon–and add the remaining olive oil. Heat the pan on medium, then add the onions. Cook the onions for about 5 minutes, they should be starting to soften at this point.
Add pepper and garlic: Add the pepper, sauté for another 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook for a minute more.
Add black-eyed peas: Stir the black-eyed peas into the onion mixture. Add the chicken broth, paprika, thyme and oregano. Stir to combine.
Add the honey and optional smoked maple syrup, if using. Stir to combine. Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with rice: Plate a portion of rice, the scoop a serving of the Hoppin’ John over the rice. Top the Hoppin’ John with a sprinkling of the scallions, reserved bacon bits, bacon and cheese. Enjoy!
