New Year's Day: Get your Black-Eyed Peas on!

I'm not a huge fan of black-eyed peas but this is one recipe I love and make every year: Cowboy Caviar.  With its mix of black-eyed peas, black beans, corn, celery and other vegetables, it's a wonderful cold side dish, you get your New Year's Day good luck black-eyed peas, and it's a great do ahead recipe for New Year's Eve or New Year's Day parties!

While black-eyed peas are grown in many countries, they are particularly eaten here in the southern United States.  There are two southern traditions that explain the superstition of eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for luck, both grew out of the Civil War. The first is the legend that whenever Sherman's Union troops sacked cities or plantations and raided the food supplies, the northeners considered black-eyed peas and field corn to be food for slaves and stock, and left it, so all the starving southeners felt "lucky" to have any food left to celebrate New Year's Day with at all.

The second is a much more pleasant legend.  Again placed during Civil War times, legend has it that many slaves celebrated the New Year's day that the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect by eating Hoppin' John, a common, hearty dish, made of a combination of black-eyed peas, rice, pork, and greens (also yummy). 

Other legends place black-eyed pea eating as far back as the Talmud and the Egyptians but having grown up eating very southern-ish, my favorite is the thought of celebrating the Emancipation Proclamation and the hope of great strides in civil rights of all men and women of all everything in our country's future.

Cowboy Caviar Recipe 

Recipe by Glenna Anderson Muse

Ingredients:

• 1 15.5 oz can Black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 15.5 oz can Black-eyed peas,  rinsed and drained
• 1 11 oz can White shoepeg corn, rinsed and drained
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 6 medium radishes, finely chopped
• 5 green onions, finely chopped
• 1/2 medium sweet green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finley minced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 3 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp Cavender's No
  Salt seasoning, or other Greek or all purpose seasoning
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Sriracha (Rooster) Sauce to taste (I used 3 drops, just enough to give some
  taste but not heat)

Directions: 
Mix all ingredients together and chill for at least two hours to allow flavors
to mingle. Serve as a side dish or as an appetizer salsa with tortilla chips. 
Makes 6 cups.

Nutrition per 1/2 cup serving:   Calories:  109   Protein:  5    Carbs:  12   Fat:   5   Fiber:  3  Weight Watchers Points:  1

Comments

[kay]

This is SUCH a good dish. Now that I'm lo-carb, I don't make it much anymore, but wow. So good.

[Glenna]

Thanks!