Recently, we had dinner over at the house of some friends of ours. As an appetizer, they served tortilla chips and Mississippi Caviar, a concoction made with black eyed peas and a few other things, including . . . are you ready for it? . . . Good Seasons Italian Dressing mix. Yup, you read that right. Well, I practically made a pig of myself , and could have passed on dinner just to sit there, happily spooning the Caviar into my mouth. But I behaved myself.
Fast forward a few weeks. For the first time ever, I spied some fresh, shelled, black-eyed peas in my farmer’s market. I bought just under three pounds, and went home, cooked the beans, and whipped up a bunch of the Caviar. Master Chow and I devoured three pounds of beans in a little over two days. All by ourselves. This recipe is a winner and incredibly flexible. For example, it’s tasty with canned beans, and I didn’t have the jarred pimentos when I made it, and didn’t even miss them. If all you have are the canned beans and an onion, it will still turn out great. I love recipes like this, and I think you will, too!
Mississippi Caviar
3 cans black eyed peas (15 oz. cans, or use an equivalent amount of fresh, cooked beans)
1 cup finely chopped onion (about one medium)
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
4 oz. jarred pimentos OR tomatoes, chopped (I used two tomatoes)
1/4 cup minced jalapenos (fresh or jarred)
Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix, made with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Mix all of the above in a large bowl, and refrigerate overnight, if possible. Serves a crowd, or two very hungry bean lovers.