Poppin' Pete 🎉
June 26, 2021
Poppin’ Pete is a variation on the Hoppin’ John recipe. It uses Pinto beans instead of black-eyed peas. Why “Pete”? No intention of insultling anybody with that name; the name begins with the right letter!
3 3/4 cups cooked long-grain brown rice
3 cups cooked pinto beans, drained (still hot)
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium bay leaf (cook with the pinto beans)
3/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup plain, low fat yogurt
15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup coarsely chopped red bell pepper
salt and pepper to taste
Pick over the dry pinto beans, discarding any that are broken, shriveled, or moldy. Rinse well. Soak the beans in water to cover plus one inch, for about 4 hours.
Rinse the raw rice. In a 2-quart pot, bring 2-1/2 cups of water to boiling. Add rice; stir; allow to return to near boil. Stir well; put on a fitted cover; and turn heat as low as possible. Simmer 30-40 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed.
Set rice aside. Drain the soaked pinto beans. Put in another 2-quart pot with water to cover. Add the chopped celery and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; cover; and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until beans are firm-tender.(They shouldn’t be mushy, though).
Remove bay leaf. Using a large, slotted spoon, transfer the cooked pinto beans to a 5-quart pot. Stir in the cheese, mixing well so that the cheese can melt. Stir in the yogurt, salt, and pepper. Add the drained, diced tomatoes and mix well. Follow up with the chopped onion and bell pepper. Mix well. Stir in the cooked rice.
Makes 9-10 cups.
I’ve got further variations of this dish in mind. I can do a lot of mix-and-match using different legumes; different types of onion; different cheeses; different colors of bell pepper; even different grains. For the mathematically-minded, it’s a culinary Cartesian product.
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