Cowboy Caviar
A cold bean and corn salad with lime and cilantro. The acid and crunch cut through rich tri tip - make it the morning of your cook.
Cowboy caviar started as a Texas tailgate staple - a no-cook bean salad that travels well in a cooler and feeds a crowd without any fuss. The name comes from the black-eyed peas, which look like little pearls of caviar when dressed in oil and lime.
It works next to tri tip because the brightness does the opposite of what the meat does. Tri tip is rich, smoky, and heavy on the umami. This salad is cold, acidic, and crunchy. The jalapeno brings a slow heat that builds alongside the beef without competing with it. Together they balance each other out the way a good side should - by making you want another bite of both.
Make it the morning of your cook. The longer it sits, the better it gets. The beans soak up the lime dressing, the onion mellows out, and everything comes together into something that tastes like you spent way more time on it than you did.
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (or one ear fresh corn, charred and cut off the cob)
- 1 red bell pepper, diced small
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
- 1/2 red onion, diced small
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- 1
Drain and rinse the black beans and black-eyed peas. Combine them in a large bowl with corn kernels, diced bell pepper, minced jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro.
Use fresh corn cut off the cob if you have it - charred on the grill for 2 minutes is even better. Canned works fine for a weeknight version.
- 2
Whisk together lime juice, olive oil, cumin, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until everything is evenly coated.
Taste the dressing before you pour it on. You want it slightly more acidic than you think - the beans absorb a lot of the lime as it sits.
- 3
Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, ideally 2-4 hours. The flavors meld and the dressing soaks into the beans.
This is a perfect make-ahead side. Prep it the morning of your cook and pull it out of the fridge right before you slice the tri tip. It holds for 2-3 days.
- 4
Serve cold or at room temperature alongside sliced tri tip. Scoop it onto plates next to the meat, or set the bowl out with tortilla chips for guests to snack on while the tri tip rests.
Add a diced avocado right before serving if you're using it as a dip. It doesn't hold as well overnight but it makes the texture unbeatable for a party spread.