Low Carb Hoppin’ John
How to Make It
Step 1
Make the cauliflower rice first. Cook the riced cauliflower in a pan over medium-high heat with the salt and pepper until the rice is crisped to a light golden brown. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the butter until it has melted. Once the cauliflower rice is coated in butter, remove it from the heat and let it cool for later one. If you are not using fresh cauliflower, you may substitute with thawed cauliflower rice from your frozen food aisle. It will just simply require a little longer cooking in your pan to evaporate the excess moisture!
Step 2
Next, chop a bacon slab into small pieces. You may also chop pre-sliced bacon for this recipe, but you may need to use a lid while cooking to trap in moisture. Toss the chopped bacon in a wide pan over medium-high heat and cook until just crisp. There should be excess grease in the pan. Add in thin-sliced celery and cook with a lid on the pan for just 2-3 minutes over low heat. Remove the lid from the pan and stir in the spinach, onion powder, pepper, paprika, red pepper, thyme, garlic, and canned black-eyed peas. Cook these ingredients down until the spinach turns just wilted and bright green.
Step 3
With the stove heat on low, pour in the chicken broth. Place a lid over the pan and simmer for at least 10 minutes. However, this is a recipe where the longer it cooks, the more flavor develops. This is an integral component of Southern cooking and comfort food in general. You may simmer the broth for longer at your discretion, adding extra chicken broth if it reduces too much. Finally, stir the cooked cauliflower rice from Step 1 into the pan. With the lid on, simmer the Hoppin’ John for another 10 minutes, or until the rice has soaked up the broth. Serve the Hoppin’ John by weight with freshly chopped green onion, parsley, or additional paprika and crushed red pepper flakes.
Ingredients
- Cauliflower Rice – 10 ounce
- Salt – ¼ teaspoon
- Black Pepper – ¼ teaspoon
- Unsalted Butter – 1 tablespoon
- Smoked Bacon – 3 ounce
- Celery – 1 ounce
- Spinach – 2 ounce
- Onion Powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Black Pepper – ¼ teaspoon
- Paprika – ½ teaspoon
- Crushed Red Pepper by Simply Organic – ¼ tsp
- Thyme, Dried – ¼ teaspoon
- Garlic – ½ teaspoon
- Black Eyed Peas Canned – 4 tablespoon
- Chicken Broth – 1-½ cup