I recently attended a graduation party that has some fantastic food. One bean salad caught my attention and I asked my friend’s mother for the recipe. She said it was an old family recipe called Texas Caviar. I had never heard of it. She said that there are many variation of it online, but no one does it right. I asked if the recipe was a secret, but she said she’s happy to share it.
Sweet Texas Caviar
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can black eye peas, drained
1 can shoepeg corn, drained
1 can green chiles, drained
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup pepper of choice
~1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (not olive oil!)
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Mix the first 9 ingredients in a large bowl. Combine remaining ingredients in a sauce pan and bring to a boil to create the dressing. Let it cool. Pour over the bean mixture, stir, and let it marinade overnight. Serve with chips.
I took this to a potluck with over 60 people over the weekend, so I decided to double the recipe. It made a HUGE bowl. We had about a 1/4 leftover, which several of us munched on the next day.
I love that this recipe doesn’t have any ingredients that will spoil quickly. It can sit out for several hours and still be good.
Thank you Carolyn for sharing your special family recipe!