Amy and Matt’s Famous Texas Caviar

I remember the day Texas Caviar and I were introduced.

The white bowl sat on the table next to the mustard at my neighbor’s barbecue. The bright colors of its contents attracted my eye and I immediately spooned a scoop onto my sagging paper plate.

My corn chips became spoons to dig into the scoopable feast. As I was cramming my mouth full I spied my neighbor looked at me funny.

“It’s amazing.” I drooled throwing back another scoop.

“We usually just eat it as a side dish,” she explained. “Never really thought of it as a dip.”

“Well, it is mind-blowing as a dip,” I said, fully enjoying the sweet and salt of the mixture I was cramming into my mouth.

The “dip” became my main course for the night and my wife got the recipe before we left. The next day she put the concoction together with a couple tweaks for her own taste.

Incredibly it was even better.

A family reunion gave us our first chance to introduce our new recipe to the world. It was a hit and the recipe was passed around again.

Now the legend begins.

One of my cousins is a schoolteacher and the school has potluck lunches for the staff on a regular basis. Afterward many of the teachers post the recipes for their dishes on the bulletin board for others to copy. Someone posted one for there own version of Texas caviar. My cousin recognized the fraud and soon provided my wife’s recipe on the billboard labeled as “Amy and Matt’s Texas Caviar”.

It continues.

The recipe became a favorite and was a staple at all of the potlucks but that wasn’t what bestowed the famous moniker upon the dish.

One day one of the loyal converts to the recipe saw a recipe for Texas Caviar posted in The Columbus Dispatch, one of the 50 largest newspapers in the country.

But, this was not “Amy and Matt’s Texas Caviar” and a letter to the editor was quickly composed by the many converts and the changes were found in a later edition of The Columbus Dispatch under the title “Amy and Matt’s Texas Caviar” recipe.

So, it’s famous, I guess.

Amy and Matt’s Famous Texas Caviar Recipe

1 Large green pepper, chopped fine
1 Medium sweet onion, chopped fine
1 can shoepeg corn, drained
1-15.8 oz. can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1-4oz. jar diced pimientos, drained
½ c. apple cider vinegar
½ c. raw sugar
½ c. avacado oil

1. In medium-size bowl combine your green pepper, sweet onion, black-eyed peas, corn, and pimientos.
2. In a separate bowl, combine apple cider vinegar, sugar and oil.
3. Stir well until ingredients begin to combine.
4. Pour vinegar-oil mixture over vegetable mixture and toss vegetables until well coated.
5. Cover vegetable bowl and place in refrigerator to marinate for at least 3 hours or overnight; stirring occasionally.
6. Remove mixture from refrigerator and drain off liquid.
7. Allow mixture to rewet; this will only take a few minutes.
8. Give the mix a little toss and serve cold as a side or as a great dip for corn chips.

Note: For those with a desire for something with a little more kick, you can omit the sugar and add 1Tbs. Cajun seasoning. I also like to squirt a little Sriracha sauce into it for a kick.