Texas Caviar

In our last post, we proclaimed August to be National Pinto Bean Month  In honor of that proclamation, we shared a favorite pinto bean recipe wrapped up in a rich, spicy gravy.  But those pintos are best served hot and since the weather is so damn hot right now, we thought we'd slip in one more recipe in August to honor that favored bean, this time as part of an icy cold Texas Caviar.

I know there are purists out there who claim Texas Caviar is made with black-eyed peas only.  We figure that since the creator of Texas Caviar, Helen Corbitt was a native New Yorker, we could play a little loose with the ingredients.  At least we didn't eliminate the black-eyes altogether! Anyway, here's our recipe that we've assembled over the years, based on what we think tastes good plus ideas and input from friends and family.  There's a lot of cutting and chopping going on with this recipe but a scoop piled on top of a big tortilla chip is well worth the effort in the kitchen.

So make a batch of Texas Caviar, get a big bag of tortilla chips and taste what I'm talking about...a Texas favorite from a New Yorker..go figure....

Texas Caviar

1 - 15.5 oz can Black-eyed Peas, drained & rinsed
1 - 15.5 oz can Pinto Beans, drained & rinsed
1 - 11 oz can whole kernel corn, drained & rinsed
1 - 4 oz can diced green chiles, undrained
2 - Roma tomatoes or any small tomato, chopped
1 - small bunch of fresh cilantro, stems removed, leaves chopped
3 - green onions, chopped
1 - Jalapeno, larger the better, seeded & chopped unless you prefer more heat
1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 of a red bell pepper, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced

Add all the above ingredients to a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

In a measuring cup, combine 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1/2 cup red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons black pepper.  Mix well and pour over above ingredients and toss well.

Squeeze the juice of one large lime over the top of the ingredients, mix well and refrigerate in a covered bowl for at least 6-8 hours.  Tastes great with chips or eat on the side of a big, fat ribeye steak.  Make this and let us know what you did to improve it!