Recipe: Meera Sodha's recipe for vegan Hoppin' John

From theguardian.com

Enjoy the homely delights of this pilaf-like rice dish from the American South

Meera Sodha’s vegan Hoppin’ John. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay.

Hoppin’ John is traditionally eaten in the southern states of the US, and comprises rice and black-eyed beans cooked together, much like a pilau, and served with collard greens. Eating it on New Year’s Day is said to bring luck and prosperity – the beans represent coins, the greens dollar bills – and although we’re long past that, it could certainly save you money, because it’s a wildly economical meal. My recipe is a broad interpretation of the original: I’ve cooked the greens with the rice and thrown in an old family favourite ingredient, Tabasco. The result is a gentle, soothing, belly-warming dish with a small vinegar kick to it.

Hoppin’ John

So that you don’t get ambushed by the recipe, do all the chopping up front, then it is just a question of throwing things into a pan. You’ll need a large frying pan with a tight fitting lid.

Prep 20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 6-8

4 tbsp groundnut oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely diced
2 carrots (about 200g) finely diced
3 celery stalks (about 200g), finely diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 ½ tbsp Tabasco
200g spring greens, shredded
300g basmati rice, washed and drained
1 x 400g tin black-eyed beans, drained
550ml vegetable stock (suitable for vegans)
1 tsp fine sea salt
Vegan garlic mayonnaise, to serve

Put the oil in a deep-sided frying pan for which you have a tight fitting lid, and set it over a medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the diced onion, carrot and celery, and cook, stirring every now and then, for 20 minutes, until everything has sweated down and started to caramelise. Add the garlic, tomato puree and Tabasco, and cook, stirring regularly, for five minutes more.

Add the spring greens to the pot, stir to mix, then leave to wilt down. Add the rice, drained beans, stock and salt, stir and bring up to a boil. Turn down the heat to a whisper, then pop on the lid and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.

Distribute into bowls and serve with a big blob of garlic mayonnaise on top.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jan/16/meera-sodha-recipe-for-vegan-hoppin-john-rice-beans