New Year, New Food

Hello my lovelies and Happy New Year. Did you all eat your Hoppin' John??

Ok, I'll admit it, I had never heard of Hoppin' John until about a week ago. Nevertheless, I decided it would be a great year to begin the blackeyed pea tradition because, well, who doesn't need a little good luck?

I found this absolutely adorable recipe for a Hoppin' John tart here at My Recession Kitchen  and gave it a go. I made the brown rice crust and spinach just as the recipe dictates, but for the Hoppin' John part I had neither the dried beans, nor the time. So here is what I did differently.

First I roughly chopped 2 carrots and sliced about 1/2 of a red onion. I added the carrot, onion and about 3 cups (enough to cover) of vegetable broth to a sauce pan. I cooked this on medium low heat about 5-7 minutes, until the carrots were soft.

I then added 1 can of (rinsed) blackeyed peas. I brought this up to a gentle bubble and added a pinch of sea salt and a few generous shakes of smoked paprika. I let this cook down on a low simmer until most of the veg. broth is cooked down and thickened a bit. As it cooks, be sure to taste and add more salt or paprika as you feel necessary. I wanted mine pretty "smokey" so I added a bit more.

Once the crust was finished baking, I assembled as in the original recipe. Crust, greens, pea mixture on top. Mine was not as pretty as the original tart, but it was delicious.

Ok, so it looks a little weird, but I thought the flavor was pretty excellent. In fact, the bean mixture reminded me of my mom's split pea soup she used to make before I went veg. Mmmm, nostalgia.