Photo courtesy of Garden & Gun
Many families will sit down to a New Year's meal on the first day of 2020 with the hopes of prosperity and renewal for the coming year. Thanks to Georgia Organics’ Farm to Restaurant program and their group of amazing farmers, Georgians and those in surrounding areas will have the opportunity to use fresh, local produce to create the quintessential combination of greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread for the popular New Year’s dish known as Hoppin’ John.
While New Year’s Day dishes might vary depending on the region of the country, one thing that everyone can agree on is that the meal is meant to nourish the soul while feeling hopeful about the future. Hearty winter greens such as collards and a side of cornbread, possibly representing gold, are often paired with the soul-soothing rice and peas combination known as Hoppin’ John.
Hoppin’ John can be first traced back to the low country areas of South Carolina, where rice grew well in the marshy river deltas. Soon, the popularity of the dish spread throughout the entire area of the South. Even further back, hoppin’ John has evolved through the many bean-and-rice meals consumed by enslaved West Africans headed to the Americas. Many versions of this savory dish have been produced, from Cuba to the Caribbean and of course, the American South.
Steven Satterfield, chef and co-owner of Miller Union in Atlanta and a Farmer Champion chef, talks about the history of one of the most popular food items on New Year’s Day in his book “Root to Leaf: A Southern Cook Through the Seasons.”
“Throughout the South, Hoppin’ John and collard greens are served together on New Year’s Day to ensure good luck and fortune for the coming year,” Steven writes. “The peas represent coins and the greens, dollar bills. Hoppin’ John is a mixture of peas and rice believed to have originated during the mid-1800s in the coastal plains of the Southeast. The black-eyed pea is more commonly seen now, but the red pea was the true original in this historic mixture.”
If you don’t have a copy of “Root to Leaf,” or your own recipe, here’s an excellent Hoppin’ John recipe from Garden & Gun’s “The Southerner’s Cookbook” for you to try.
Many farms participating in the Georgia Organics Farm to Restaurant Campaign offer produce perfect for the New Year’s Day meal:
West Georgia Farmers Cooperative (West Point- The Common Market GA)
Collards
Hot peppers
Truly Living Well (Atlanta- Freedom Farmers Market)
Collards
Hot peppers
Narrow Way Farm (McDonough)
Collards
New Eden Ecosystem (West Point - The Common Market GA)
Collards
Hot peppers
Also look for seasonal bounty at these farms:
Brown’s Place (Augusta)
Adderson’s Fresh Produce (Augusta)