Jackson Jambalaya

I have no idea who taught John how to hop. I'm not even sure who John Is, but I love the recipe named after the Hopping Dude named John that makes a tasty black eye pea and rice dish. If you ever had a bowl of Hopping John and liked it, you would likely love this hearty soup. 

One of my favorite meals is Hopping John, which uses the leftover ham and black eye peas after our New Year's dinner. 

There is something about the mixture of black eye peas, pork, and rice that really appeals to me. 

Did you know that Legumes (as in blackeye peas) and rice combine in the gut to form a perfect protein?

Then one night a few weeks back, while obsessing about coming up with a new soup for our dinner (We are BIG SOUP FANS at our house), it occurred to me that I had a nice selection of soup ingredients in the pantry and fridge that would use these ingredients. 

I worked on my idea in my head (a very dangerous place) for a day or two before deciding to go pick up a couple of additional things at the Piggly Wiggly and make a soup that had never been served at our dinner table. It probably has never showed up on your table either, but I think you will love it. We certainly did.

Here is my recently developed soup. In case you wondered, I have named it Hopping John Soup (Duh).

Hopping John Soup

Ingredients:

12 ounces country ham
6 cups water, or more if needed
3 Tablespoons Better than Bouillon Ham paste
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 celery rib, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 Large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup green bell pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
12 ounces chopped fresh collard greens
2 cans black eye peas
1 Tablespoon Lawry's Garlic Salt
1 box (5 ounces) wild rice mix (with seasoning)
salt and black pepper (to taste)

note: You might notice a sweet potato in the following photo. I included it in the photo as a potential ingredient and then decided to leave it out. Let's just include it as an optional ingredient.

I am a sucker for a nice wedge of buttered cornbread with my meal so here is what is needed for that.

Corn Bread:

1 1/2 cup self rising cornmeal
1 cup self rising flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 + cup buttermilk to make pan cake thick batter
8 inch skillet
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions

Make cornbread:

Preheat oven and skillet to 400 degrees F. Add oil to skillet, mix cornbread batter and put in hot skillet. Bake at 400 degrees F until top browns slightly. Have the butter ready for a taste test.

Make soup:

Prep carrots, celery, onion, bell pepper and collards

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the celery, carrots, onion, green peppers, collards, Lawrey's, and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 10 minutes.

Add the country ham.

And the blackeye peas.

Add the Better Than Bouillon Ham Paste.

and water.

Stir in and bring to a boil. Cook with a lid for about thirty minutes at a low boil.

Add the wild rice (with seasoning pack) to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the rice was cooked, about 30 minutes. Check a few times and add more water if needed. I tried to keep mine thick.

While waiting make the cornbread.

Looks ready to me. Taste and season if needed. Might need just a little water.

Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with cornbread.

Spoon view:

Not bad leftovers the next day.

Another nice thing. It freezes well. We still have a container in the freezer to enjoy another time. This is a definite do again.

Thanks for looking at my post.

God Bless You.