I used to maintain a food blog, and had a lot of fun doing it. This salad, or dip, or whatever you want to call it, was always a favorite of the blog visitors, few of whom had ever heard of it. At room temperature, it’s tangy and spicy and fresh and meaty (from the blackeyed peas) and limey and hot and you think this is the last bite, but you just have to have one more. I present you: Texas caviar.

Ingredients:
4 cups of cooked black-eyed peas (or 2 16-oz cans), drained and rinsed of all juice
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced (i use the green and white parts)
1 tablespoon fresh oregano
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
3 canned or fresh jalapeño chiles, chopped (or more, add a habanero if you really like heat)
1 can Rotel tomatoes or 1 ripe, chopped tomato
3/4 cup olive oil
Juice from one lime
1 yellow bell pepper, finely chopped (red bell peppers are good too)
3 cloves fresh garlic, pressed or minced (or more….I usually use 6)

Mix everything together, and taste and adjust as you wish. Chill for four hours. Serve at room temperature with tortilla or corn chips.

It’s really, really, really good. Do you have a go-to dish like this, one that’s cheap and easy to throw together, that everyone always loves?

and p.s. If you want to print out the recipe, look down at the bottom of the post, where all the social bookmarking icons are. The second one opens the post in a new window in a print-friendly way. It allows you to remove any parts you don’t want to print, such as the photo, or the post title. It’s pretty cool!

Related posts

• diary of a V-Day Eve (2)