Hoppin John

Hoppin John is a mixture of black-eyed peas, rice, tomato sauce, and sausage or salt pork – a Lowcountry cognate of Creole red beans and rice. At the beginning of a new year, hoppin John is considered an edible good luck charm. Mostly edible, that is, because one person at the table will get a coin that was buried in the beans as they cooked. That person is the ultra-lucky one, but southern culinary lore says that all who eat hoppin’ john will be blessed with a year of good luck; and if they accompany the rice and beans with greens, they’ll likely make some money, too.