Hoppin John's

Today our church had another potluck.  Yes, two day's in a row.  This one had a theme, "New Years."  I looked online for traditional New Year's food and found all the foods associated with good fortune and good luck for the New Year such as beans, really really long noodles, round fruit, and some other foods.  In some Southern states it is traditional to eat a dish called Hoppin John's.  Good news, I had some of the ingredients and could get the others, so I decided to make it.

Hoppin John's

 Ingredients for brining black eyed peas (not to be confused with the band) are: 1 lb. black eyed peas,
4 quarts water, and 6 tablespoons coarse salt (Kosher salt would also work).

 Add salt to water in a large lidded container, mix until dissolved and add beans.  

Let brine over night.

 My brined beans are ready this morning.

 

Ingredients for this Hoppin John's are: 8 cups Chicken Broth (I made homemade, my recipe 

found here), 1 ham hock (I had a leftover ham bone from our Christmas spiral cut ham in our freezer), 

1 green bell pepper, 1 yellow onion, 1 bunch of green onions, and 1 lb. of brined black eyed peas.

 You may skip this step if you are using pre-made chicken broth.  Drain chicken broth into a sieve over a container.  I drained the beans and poured the chicken broth directly onto the beans. 

 Dice onion and bell pepper. Saute vegetables in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until onion is tender.

 Add everything to a pressure cooker pot, or a 6-8 quart stock pot.  Cook in pressure cooker on
high for 25 minutes or on stove top for 1 1/2 hours.

When pressure has naturally released, or it has been done cooking on the stove top, remove
ham hock and add sliced green onions and serve over steamed rice.

Enjoy!