Cowboy Caviar

I swap lime juice for the red wine vinegar- works better with the black beans and complements avos, if you add them

I’ve been making a version of this for years, but I like to roast the corn kernels (frozen is fine) on a sheet pan with a little oil. I let it get pretty toasty but it softens up in the dressing. Nice garnished with diced avocado.

Y'all need to know more about Helen Corbitt (and black-eyed peas). Miss Corbitt was a cooking legend in Texas and the Southwest for more than 40 years. As director of food services at Neiman-Marcus for nearly 15 of those years, she was the diva of the famous Zodiac Room. Several of her renowned recipes remain on Neiman's menus today. She was also an acclaimed cookbook author. (Texans MUST eat black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's. Bc who knows what might happen if we don't

Add jicama in corn kernel size bits for crunch

Sugar in any recipe that includes any canned product, especially canned tomatoes or beans, takes the "tin can" taste away from the finished product. A teaspoon of sugar is enough to accomplish this without making the dish sweet.

I have been making a version of this for years: 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed 1 can white corn, drained (or frozen roasted corn) 2 tomatoes, large, seeded and diced 1 red onion, diced 1 large avocado, diced 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped 4 TBS lime juice 2 TBS Olive Oil 1 TBS Red Wine Vinegar 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp black pepper Combine and refrigerate for two hours before serving. Tortilla scoop chips are the best vessel to get the deliciousness to your mouth. Never any leftovers!

Ditch the sugar and add cumin to taste. Delicious!

I disagree with comment about the sugar not being necessary. I mixed everything together, tasted, adjusted seasoning, and then added the sugar last. It definitely added something, and helped to pull the all of the ingredients (sweet and not sweet) together. And the amount of sugar is so small relative to the whole that the health concerns are negligible.

Add brown rice to taste to this and you have a delicious salad.

Whoa, there. You’ll get some side-eye in Texas if you don’t squeeze some lime in there, and maybe a little cumin. Peg Bracken might just slop a little of her me-time margarita in there and call it square. And a sigh if you don’t at least TRY to get some good avocados, but skip it if they’re the sad ones...

My version. 1 bag Frozen Roasted Corn from Trader Joe's. No need to defrost unless you want to eat it right then. Much lower in fat, my dressing is: 1 large garlic clove smashed in 1/2 teaspoon of salt, to that I add the juice of 1 lime and 1 tablespoon of avocado oil. Because it rounds out the flavors better I typically add a drained tub of fresh Trader Joes Pico de Gallo as well.

I understand why people don’t want to add sugar, but the teaspoon added to the dressing for 8 cups of veggies is there to add a balance between acidity and saltiness. I know it has made my good dressings taste great.

Trader Joe's grilled/roasted frozen corn is great in this and anywhere else!

In the summer when the corn is good, I cut the kernels off fresh ears and then char them in a dry cast iron skillet.

The teaspoon of sugar adds just the right amount of sweetness and definitely adds to the overall flavor.