Skippin’ Jenny Fritters
Description
This is one of those recipes borne out of necessity, but kept around because it just tastes good.
Skippin' Jenny is the leftover Hoppin' John from New Year's Day. Hoppin' John is a quintessentially Southern recipe for black eyed peas made with smoked meats and greens, and generally served with cornbread. The peas represent coins, the greens represent paper money and the cornbread represents gold. The dish is eaten on New Year's Day to bring good luck and propriety throughout the coming year.
When eaten the next day, or for a second meal, Hoppin' John is known as "Skppin' Jenny" and is even more lucky than the Hoppin' John on the first eating. I'm guessing that's because it represented frugality, or elimination of wastefulness for the new year. In any case, beans always taste fine and sometimes even better on the second day when they've had a chance to really soak up all those good flavors from smoked meats and spices.
This recipe kicks the Skippin' Jenny up a notch, in my opinion, by creating a completely new dish that's both tasty and a little more elegant in presentation: Skippin' Jenny fritters. And here's a bonus: it's not only more lucky than Hoppin' John, but it's also dead simple to make!
Ingredients
Instructions
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In a large bowl, mix together the leftover Hoppin' John, flour, panko crumbs and egg.
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Mash the ingredients together using a potato masher until the beans are broken down, but still recognizable and the mixture is fully blended.
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Using a large spoon or ice-cream scoop, spoon about 2 tablespoons of mixture up and form into a patty--I found that using my hands was the easiest way to do this. Place the patties onto a cookie sheet. My ingredients yielded about 9 patties. Place the patties in the fridge for about an hour until you're ready to cook them.
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When ready to cook, pour oil into pan to about 3/4 inch and heat oil in a large, heavy pan, preferably cast iron, on medium-high heat, until the oil is shimmering hot, but not smoking. Remove Skppin' Jenny patties from the fridge. Pour panko crumbs into a shallow casserole dish and coat the patties in the crumbs.
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Once fully coated, carefully place the patties into the hot oil. Keep a splatter screen handy to avoid getting splattered.
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Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown and hot all the way through the patty.
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Serve with celeriac salad and remoulade sauce and bask in the joy of even more luck in the new year!
