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vegan hoppin' john
5 from 5 votes

Vegan Hoppin' John

Inspired by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, this Vegan Hoppin’ John with pico de gallo and hot tahini sauce is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Bean Soaking Time12 hours
Total Time45 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
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Ingredients

For the black-eyed peas:

  • 16 oz dry black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
  • 7 cups water
  • 3 tsp liquid smoke, mesquite or hickory flavored
  • 1 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
  • 2 ½ tsp sea salt

For the tahini sauce:

  • ⅓ cup tahini
  • ⅓ cup Franks RedHot Original Hot Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 tsp maple syrup
  • ½ tsp liquid smoke
  • 1 tsp Bragg Liquid Aminos
  • 1 clove garlic, minced

For the pico de gallo:

  • 1 ½ cup diced tomatoes
  • ¼ cup minced mini sweet peppers
  • 2 ½ Tbsp minced cilantro
  • 2 Tbsp minced red onion
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1 pinch of pepper
  • 2 tsp lime juice, freshly squeezed (or to taste)

Everything else:

  • Rice, (I use 4-5 cups cooked Basmati Rice. It feeds 4 people over two days)
  • Lettuce, preferably something crisp, like romaine

Instructions

Soak the black-eyed peas overnight

  • The night before you cook the black-eyed peas, rinse them. Add the rinsed black-eyed peas to a large soup pot, and cover them with water by several inches.
  • Cover the pot with a lid, and let the black-eyed peas soak in water overnight on the counter or stovetop. (This helps the beans cook faster.)

Cook the black-eyed peas

  • The next evening, drain the black-eyed peas, and put them back in the soup pot. Now add 7 cups of water, 3 tsp liquid smoke, and 1 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos to the pot.
  • Put the soup pot on the stovetop, and turn the heat on to high. Bring the black-eyed peas to a boil. The beans will get foamy on top. If the foam gets too high, simply stir the pot. The foam will drop down.
  • Once the black-eyed peas are boiling, turn the heat down to low. Cover the pot, leaving the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape, and let the beans simmer for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, taste a few black-eyed peas. The beans should be cooked through but still have a bite. If the black-eyed peas are still too hard, simmer them for an additional 5 minutes.
  • Once the black-eyed peas finish cooking, uncover them. Stir the 2 ½ tsp sea salt into the black-eyed peas. Black-eyed peas are done.
  • While the black-eyed peas cook, get the rice started, make the tahini sauce and make the pico de gallo.

Make the tahini sauce

  • Add all the tahini sauce ingredients to a cereal bowl. Whisk everything together with a fork until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add water 1 Tbsp at a time. Tahini sauce is done.

Make the pico de gallo

  • Dice/mince all the pico de gallo ingredients. Add them to a small mixing bowl as you go.
  • Dice/mince the pico de gallo ingredients in whatever order you prefer, but for cleanliness of the cutting board, here’s the order I recommend:
  • Mince the peppers
  • Mince the onion
  • Mince the cilantro
  • Dice the tomatoes (see photos here for my method)
  • Gently mix all the pico de gallo ingredients together in the mixing bowl. Now add the sea salt, pepper, 2 tsp lime juice, and mix again.
  • Taste, and add more lime juice, if desired. Pico de gallo is done.

Compile and serve

  • Serve the black-eyed peas over lettuce and rice. Put a generous amount of pico de gallo over the beans, followed by a generous amount of tahini sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

This dish is vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free.
You will have leftovers. This meal can feed a family of four for two meals. (If you use a lot of pico de gallo (like me), you may need to make more the second night.)
Store the black-eyed peas in the water you cooked them. It will keep the flavor of the beans strong.  For serving, simply use a slotted spoon.