Last year I hosted a Texas BBQ for some Twitter fans of the awesome show Friday Night Lights. On this day, a bunch of us discovered we ♥ Texas caviar. I made it again recently and a few of you asked that I share the recipe.
I've pretty much stuck to the recipe found on
Chow with a few alterations. The
Homesick Texan has another version with Tabasco in the dressing which sounds delish too. You must give her potato salad a go too. It was so yummy.
Back to the Texas caviar...
INGREDIENTS
For the dressing:
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons canola oil
The dressing is pretty easy and I've stuck to it as all the ingredient are easy to come by here in Australia.
For the actual salad:
2 medium cobs white corn, shucked. I don't know what white corn is. I just bought standard corn from the market and threw it in the oven with husk still on. Supermarkets sometimes sell them with part of the husk removed. I recommend wrapping in foil before cooking. I've also cooked this on the BBQ.
1 (425g) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed.I haven't found these canned but you can find them dried at both Tully's and South Melbourne Market (other places I'm sure). I use about a 1-1 1/2 cups of dried black eyed peas and let them soak over night. I also cooked them in boiling water until tender then drained and cooled.
2 Pickled Jalapeños, stems removed and finely chopped (sometimes I leave out if none available)
1 medium Roma tomato, seeded and cut into small dice. I use a bit extra cos I like tomato. Plus I leave the seeds too (Texans must be getting peeved at my improvisations :P)
3/4 cup red bell pepper, seeded, white pith removed, and cut into small dice
1/2 cup white onion, small dice (I've been using Spanish onion as I prefer it)
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro/coriander
INSTRUCTIONS
For the dressing:
The recipe instructions state to: "Combine vinegar, garlic, salt, cumin, and pepper in a large nonreactive bowl. While whisking constantly, slowly add oil in a thin stream until completely incorporated; set aside." While I have made this several times, this is the first time I've actually noticed this. Hehehe recipe schmecipe. Just mix it.
For the salad:
Heat the oven to 230°C and arrange a rack in the middle. Roast corn until knife tender and golden brown in spots, about 25 minutes (remember you can cook this on BBQ too). Remove to a cutting board until cool enough to handle, about 2 minutes, then slice kernels off the cobs; set aside.
Add black-eyed peas, jalapeños, tomato, bell pepper, onion, and reserved corn to the bowl with the dressing and stir until well coated. I get my hands in here and mix it the salad and make sure everything is well coated. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When I made this recently, I served it with a marinated butterfly chook which we BBQ'd. This is a great little salad for summer BBQ's - colourful, delicious and easy to make.
Thanks to
Chow for sharing their delights and hopefully not caring if I butcher it slightly.
Enjoy!
GB
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