Hoppin' John Hopped onto a Waffle

Hoppin' John hopped onto a Waffle!

I love black eyed peas served with cornbread. I wanted to dress up my peas and decided to prepare my version of Hoppin' John. Hoppin John is a Southern Dish and there is not one certain way or recipe to prepare this satisfying meal. Everyone has their own recipe. "It's ALL good!"

Traditional Hoppin John is prepared with ham hocks, bacon or fatback. I had none of these handy, and to avoid a trip to the grocery store, I used bone in pork chops. After cooking in the slow cooker they fell apart and away from the bone. I did not need to pull the chops apart, they were so soft and tender they fell apart into chunks of goodness all throughout the peas.

I used dried black eye peas. However,canned peas would work just as well. Just remember to rinse peas. Careful not to over cook the dried peas as they will become mushy and if this happens, you can drain the cooked peas into a colander and rinse the "mush" away. But do this before you add the spices and vegetable mixture.

The greens were from a batch I had prepared a few weeks ago and froze. If fresh greens are used, rinse greens several times, and pull each leaf away from the thick center vein, roll up like a cigar and chop. Canned collard greens would work well in this dish too.

The cornbread waffles were the best companion for this dish. All the juice settled into the squares of the waffle and with each bite of the Hoppin' John you got a bite of cornbread too!


The Recipe:

Hoppin’ John

1 pound of dry Black Eyed Peas
1 pound Smoked Sausage
2 bone in Pork Chops
1 large Onion chopped
3 stalks of Celery chopped
1 green Bell Pepper chopped
2 cups diced Tomatoes (fresh or canned)
2 cups Collard greens rinsed, and chopped thin
2 cups Rice
2 Bay Leaves
4 cloves Garlic chopped
2 teaspoons Red Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoon Canola Oil

Pick the peas, or “Look” the peas. Soak covered in cold water overnight or for 6-8 hours.

Place peas, bone in pork chops, greens and 2 bay leaves into slow cooker. Cover chicken stock or water. Cook on low setting for 6-8 hours. Careful not to overcook peas.

When peas have two hours or so left to cook; Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet, add onion, garlic, celery, smoked sausage, bell pepper, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Cook until onions are clear and the veggies begin to soften.

Using a ladle remove bones from the cooked pork chops in peas. Add skillet mix to crock pot and mix into peas, stirring gently.

Continue to cook for the last two hours on low.

Cook white rice per directions.

CORNBREAD WAFFLES:

2 large eggs
1 ½ cups buttermilk or any milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups Self rising corn meal ( I prefer yellow)
1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat waffle Iron.
Mix all ingredients. I use a little more milk for cornbread waffles. They seem to turn out better if you can somewhat “pour” the batter onto the waffle iron.

Close waffle iron and leave for about 5 minutes. Check and cook until firm and golden.


Place waffle on plate, top with rice and spoon the peas from slow cooker on top.

Yum!