Recipe: Texas Caviar

Recipe Source: Robertson, Robin. Vegan Fire & Spice. Vegan Heritage Press, Woodstock, 2008 p. 5

Okay, I will be the first to admit that this stuff looks a little like cat food. Or maybe a lot like cat food. If you spread it on a cracker and eat it, you will forget all about that, because this is a really tasty treat. I made it for our Fourth of July party and it was pretty universally declared a winner. No one cared that it was vegan, although I guess most people wouldn't care much if a dip is vegan. The funny thing is that I was in my local large box warehouse store recently – you know, where they have the samples – and they were offering samples of what they were calling "cowboy caviar." I like mine better.

I made a couple of changes to the recipe. I increased the garlic, as usual, and I increased the vinegar as well. I played around a little with the proportions of some of the spices and increased the cumin significantly. (Cumin is one of my favorite flavors.) While I thought that I had canned chipotles lurking in the recesses of my cabinets, what I actually had was canned chipotle sauce. I threw half of the can in, using the rest for scrambled eggs another day.

Texas Caviar (makes about 28 oz; approx. $0.15/oz)

3 cups cooked black-eyed peas

¼ cup minced onion

6 garlic cloves, crushed

½ can chipotle sauce

2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

½ teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Equipment:

• Food processor

1. Combine all ingredients in the food processor and process to a paste.
2. Let sit at least 1 hour.
3. Serve at room temperature.