Pois à Pigeon

Last summer when I was cooking the recipes from The Colbert cookbook, Does This Taste Funny?, I somehow skipped over the recipe for Hoppin’ John.1 If you’ve never heard of this dish (I hadn’t until this year) it is the South Carolina Lowcountry version of rice and beans and is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day for good luck and prosperity. I know how my brain works and most likely I wanted to make this on New Year’s Day and not in August. That did not happen. As with so many of these things the origins of the name, Hoppin’ John, are not well known. I sort of thought it was going to be about the beans hoppin’ around in the pot. Not the case. The most accepted explanation is that if you say the French for Pigeon Peas2, pois à pigeon, really fast and with a thick accent it kind of sounds like Hoppin’ John. The beans in Hoppin’ John are most often black eyed peas these days, which are a favorite of mine. I was on my own for dinner tonight so I decided to make the recipe – even if it…