Southern dish flavored with Yankee ingenuity Meat-seasoned beans and rice make for economical meals

A bachelor I know has a nifty strategy for providing himself with several suppers a week. It means tolerating a bit of repetition, but there are worse things in life. And it means letting a bit of Southern cooking into his house.

He makes up a big batch of Hoppin’ John or one of red beans and rice. Then each evening he stir-fries his vegetables du jour, heats up a serving of the beans and rice, tops it with the vegetables, and he is all set. Apparently he eats some meat but it isn’t the most important part of the meal, and by not buying much meat or fish, he has the cash to spend on fresh vegetables.

I suppose everyone knows that rice and beans, besides being wicked economical, provide a complete protein. Hoppin’ John traditionally was made in the lowland South, with black-eyed peas as the bean part and Carolina rice for the rice portion. Red beans and rice is similar, only made with small red beans.

When folks didn’t have much meat, a ham hock would give the bean and rice combination some flavor and a bit of unctuousness, which the vegetarians among us can acquire with olive or vegetable oil. In some parts of the South, red beans and rice are made with spicy sausage, and some Northerners like to use kielbasa in the dish.

Lacking hocks or sausage, a practical, if inauthentic, Yankee version of this dish might not turn to good old salt pork, a piece of bacon, or leftover ham bone. These dishes freeze reasonably well, so a couple hours of attention can yield supper for three nights for two, or more if you use the vegetable stir-fry garnish our bachelor uses.

The recipe here follows in the footsteps of Bill and Cheryl Jamison’s “American Home Cooking” rendition of a traditional Hoppin’ John. Since we raise our own pigs, I have our own smoked ham hocks to use, and we cut them so there is still meat on them (not much, maybe a half-cup or so).

The ones from the store may not provide little nuggets of hamlike meat to put back into the pot. You could follow up a baked ham dinner with Hoppin’ John instead of pea soup to use the bone and meat scraps. You also could use leftover cooked rice in it.

Black-eyed peas are available at large supermarkets. If you don’t find them among the dried beans and peas, look in the ethnic foods section. The little red beans are often found in the Latin food section. I buy dried beans because I am a cheapskate and figure I can add water to them myself. However, people in a hurry might use canned ones and make this dish in the time it takes to cook some rice, though it is always better slow-cooked, and even better the next day.

Hoppin’ John

Serves six

1 cup dried black-eyed peas

6 cups water (1 1/2 quarts)

1 ham hock (or a ham bone or a 2-inch-square (or so) piece of streaky salt pork)

1 dried hot pepper (optional for all you heat-averse types)

1 onion

salt and pepper to taste

1 bay leaf (optional)

finely chopped garlic (optional)

1 cup rice

Put the beans, water, hock and seasonings into a large pot, bring to a boil, and cook until the beans are tender. Fish out the hock, pick off the meat, discard the bone, and put the meat back in. Drain off the excess liquid and reserve it. Put 2 cups of the liquid back into the pot, add the rice, and cook until done, adding more liquid if necessary. Return the beans and meat to the pot and toss together with the rice. Heat it up again and serve.

Looking for …

Your opinion on spices and seasonings. Dana Holbrook of Cape Rosier wrote and asked me what my favorite five seasonings are, not including salt and pepper. I thought this was an intriguing question and wondered: “If I had to flee my home, which five would I take with me?” I thought I would ask you all to write and tell me which five you think are essential. For the purposes of doing this, let us assume that onion and garlic, lemon juice, vinegar and sugar are merely ingredients. Let’s see which five seasonings good Maine cooks think are “must-haves.”

Send queries or answers to Sandy Oliver, 1061 Main Road, Islesboro 04848. E-mail: tastebuds@prexar.com. For recipes, tell us where they came from. List ingredients, specify number of servings and do not abbreviate measurements. Include name, address and daytime number.