Hoppin' John
Tuesday, November 20, 2007 at 08:51AM Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
six to eight ounces ham, cut into half inch dice
four to six ounces bacon cut into half inch dice
one medium onion
3 medium cloves garlic minced
1 ½ cups long-grain white rice (I use Uncle Ben’s)
two teaspoons curry
four bay leaves
one quart homemade chicken stock
10 ounces dry black eyed peas
Soak the back eyed peas overnight. Drain and then cook until just tender starting with cold water. Add a pinch of salt.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a cast iron skillet over a medium high heat. Add the ham and cook until fat has rendered about six minutes. Add the bacon and cook until sightly crisp, about three minutes. Remove the hamd and bacon from the pan and set aside on a paper towel lined plate.
Spoon off and discard all but two tablespoons of the fat from the skillet and return to the heat. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions and saute’, stirring frequently, until softened, three to four minutes. Add the garlic and saute’ until fragrant, about 30 seconds longer. Stir in the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is coated and glistening, about one minute longer. Transfer the rice mixture to the baking dih and add the bay leaves.
Return the skillet to the heat; add the chicken stock, the curry, the black eyed peas, ham and bacon. Bring to a boil and pour over the rice mixture, stirring to combine.
Cover the baking dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir the rice. Re-cover with foil and cook until the rice is fully tender, 20 to 30 minutes more. Remove the dish from the oven and serve immediately.
