Cowboy Caviar Salad or Side | Everyday Dorie

I had no idea about the origin of the cowboy caviar or salad until I hear it in Everyday Dorie from Dorie. The salad is often served on New Year’s Day in the South for prosperity. Helen Corbitt, culinary director of Neiman Marcus in Dallas, popularised it since the 1940s. The beans, traditionally the black-eyed beans, are supposed to be the inexpensive substitute for caviar. All in all, an interesting tidbit about an otherwise unremarkable salad (or side), which I assemble with loads of seasonal corn, tomatoes and fresh herbs.

Is it the narrative behind or the flavor of the dish that captivates our attention? I have the sense that it’s the former. Or does it matter? The fact is I have bags of dry beans bought at the beginning of the pandemic that needed to use up. In the interim, I’ve cooked up a lot of bean dishes than I normally do. Beans are nutritious and feel-good to eat, although my husband does not think so.

When I load up the cowboy caviar salad with good amounts of tomatoes, corn, cilantro, scallions, red onion, chili pepper and jalepeño, the beans kinda fall by the wayside. As a result, I didn’t hear any complaints about the beans. Ahh, I may have found a way to serve beans in my house. It’s a matter of hiding and disguising the beans — and call them caviar. It also helps that the spicy vinaigrette, mixture of olive oil, lime juice, ground cumin, smoked paprika, hot sauce and honey, is elevating the salad. There’s harmony in the dish and happy faces around the table.