Mixed Dishes Hopping John

hopping john
(from The Carolina Housewife, Or, House and Home, by Sarah Rutledge, 1847)

Ingredients:

1 lb. bacon​

1 pint red peas​

1 pint rice​

salt & pepper​

an optional sprig of green mint​

Instructions:

One pound of bacon, one pint of red peas, one pint of rice. First put on the peas, and when half boiled add the bacon; when the peas are well boiled, throw in the rice, which must be first washed and gravelled. When the rice has been boiling half an hour, take the pot off the fire, and put it on coals to steam, as in boiling rice alone. Put a quart of water on the peas at first, and if it boils away too much, add a little more hot water. Season with salt and pepper, and, if liked, a sprig of green mint. In serving up, put the rice and peas first on the dish, and the bacon on the top.​

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Photo by Srjenkins, CC 3.0
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Hoppin' John, also known as Carolina peas and rice, is a peas and rice dish served in the Southern United States. It is made with cowpeas and rice, chopped onion, and sliced bacon, seasoned with salt. Some recipes use ham hock, fatback, country sausage, or smoked turkey parts instead of bacon. A few use green peppers or vinegar and spices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in the South Carolina Lowcountry and coastal Georgia; black-eyed peas are the norm elsewhere.