Cowboy caviar
Black beans, black-eyed peas, corn and peppers in a zippy lime dressing, colorful, filling and better after a night in the fridge.
- 55 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 12
- About $0.98 a serving
- 290 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegan
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. Whatever’s left keeps for tomorrow.
Ingredients
For 12 servings.
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can black-eyed peas
- 1 can canned corn
- 1 red bell pepper
- ½ red onion
- 1 jalapeño
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup cilantro
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 13 oz tortilla chips, for serving
- 1 avocado, diced (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt
Each serving has about 290 calories, 7 g protein, 38 g carbs and 13 g fat, and costs about $0.98 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No black beans? Pinto beans or kidney beans work.
- No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
and the black beans and black-eyed peas in a strainer, then drain the corn and shake everything dry.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
the bell pepper, the onion, and and the jalapeño.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Seed. Seeding means scraping out the seeds and white ribs, usually from peppers, tomatoes or squash. In hot peppers the ribs hold most of the heat, so wash your hands after and don’t touch your eyes.
How you’ll know: The inside is smooth and clean, with no seeds or white ribs left.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Dolly’s tip: Wash your hands after the jalapeño, before you touch your eyes.Quarter the tomatoes and the cilantro.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
the oil, vinegar, lime juice, sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic in a large bowl.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Dolly’s tip: Taste the dressing on a bean. It should be bright and a little too salty on its own, because the beans soak it up.Add the beans, corn and vegetables to the bowl and until everything is coated.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Cover and chill at least 30 minutes, or up to a day.
Timer: 30 min
Dolly’s tip: It gets better as it sits. Stir and taste for salt before serving.the avocado just before serving and set it out with the chips.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Dolly’s tip: It can sit out up to 2 hours, or 1 hour outside on a hot day.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
When you host a dinner, Dollop builds the menu around your guests’ allergies, works out a cooking timeline back from when everyone sits down, and puts it all on one grocery list.
