Appetizer Recipe: Texas Caviar / Black Bean Salsa

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This appetizer recipe, “Texas Caviar” / Black Bean Salsa, came from my brother, Doug. (Also sometimes called “corn salsa“.) The original recipe called for a cup of sugar, but he cut it in half – I love that he’s eating healthier these days too. It’s a good thing he did because it’s still plenty sweet, and so tasty! I use as many organic ingredients as I can. This is a good way to get more veggies during our long Michigan winters. (Note, see further down for a variation on this recipe that is more like the one you may have had before.)

“TEXAS CAVIAR”/BEAN SALSA

1 can black eyed peas, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
Doug also added a small jar of Great Northern beans, drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained (I’ll use our locally frozen corn that I know isn’t from a genetically modified crop.)
1/2 of 4 oz. jar pimento, chopped & drained (I’ve never used pimentos and will probably substitute fresh red peppers for these.)
1 c. celery, chopped small
1 c. green pepper, chopped small
Jalapeno peppers – however many to your taste, chopped (or recipe says you can use 12 oz. jar of sliced jalapenos.)
1/4-1 c. onion, chopped

Combine all ingredients. Prepare dressing below. Marinate in refrigerator for 6-8 hours. It says to drain before serving, but Doug didn’t drain it and it was good with the juice still in there. Serve as a dip with tortilla chips – find some with no trans fats or other nasty ingredients - the shorter the ingredient list is and the more words you can pronounce, the better! I found some chips today with only 3 ingredients! Unfortunately it was made with Canola oil, (I wish I could find some with coconut oil), but at least there were no trans fats or preservatives.

Dressing:

1 t. sea salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 T. water
3/4 c. raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil (If you use the darker/extra virgin olive oil, it can have a strong taste, so sometimes I’ll use half expeller pressed or cold pressed sesame oil.)
1/2 c. sugar (the more natural the sugar, the better: organic cane sugar, sucanat, Rapadura)

Bring to a boil and pour over ingredients.

VARIATION:

If you like the more popular black bean salsa, you can use the same dressing as above, but use any of these ingredients (chopped of course) that sound good to you: