Name: Hoppin’ John Fritters
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour; 2 dashes Tabasco sauce; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil plus more for frying; 4 ounces bacon (about 5 slices), chopped; 1½ cups minced onion; 1 cup peeled and minced celery (about three ribs); 3 cups panko bread crumbs; 1½ cups cooked black-eyed peas; 5 eggs, beaten; 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock; 3 tablespoons water; 2 tablespoons Kosher salt plus more for seasoning; 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley; 1 tablespoon chopped thyme; 1 tablespoon black pepper plus more for seasoning; 1 cup Arborio rice; ½ cup benne seeds, optional

Preparation info

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Taste the State

By Kevin Mitchell and David S. Shields

Published 2021

About

I developed this recipe alongside the Spicy Collards earlier in the book for Charleston Magazine. Wanting to update the traditional recipe, I thought frying would be an interesting way to eat Hoppin’ John. I used arborio rice, as one would for arancini, due to its high starch content, which helps it hold its shape when formed into a ball. You can also use Carolina Gold rice but it must be cooked slightly longer to develop enough starch. You can make these fritters as big or as small