Black eyed peas for a lucky new year

by Marisa McClellan, Posted Dec 28th 2007 @ 9:46AM

So we're in the final stretch of 2007 and it's time to start thinking about what you're going to eat on New Year's Day to set the tone for the rest of your year. In the South, it is considered good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day because they are thought to symbolize wealth (because they look like little coins when cooked). They also swell when they are cooked, which is another sign of prosperity. Cabbage is also an auspicious item to eat on the new year, as it's leaves can also look like cash.

After the jump is my friend Jacqueline's recipe for a dish she calls Southern Cavier. It's a blend of canned black eyed peas, Rotel tomatoes, peppers, corn and cilantro and it just delicious. It's best eaten with tortilla chips or along side a great piece of corn bread. The first time she brought it to a potluck we all fell on it like we'd never eaten before and later begged for the recipe. It's a tasty way to get these auspicious legumes into your diet.

Southern Cavier

2 cans black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
2 cans Rotel diced tomatoes with chiles*
1 can shoepeg corn*
2-3 jalapeno peppers, diced and seeded (to taste)
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped (to taste, it can be quite strong)
8 oz. zesty Italian dressing

Filed Under: Ingredients, Holidays
Tags: auspicious foods, black eyed peas, BlackEyedPeas, celebration, New Year, New Year's Eve, New Year's foods, NewYear'sEve, Southern Cavier, SouthernCavier, vegetables

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-28-2007 @3:10PM U said... Sounds delicious! Just wondering what the asterisks are for? I'm assuming they mean we can substitute our favorite "Rotel" for "Dole", if we'd like, or something like that...am I close?
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12-28-2007 @11:30AM dan said... There is nothing like fresh black eyed peas --which tend to make their appearance in grocery store produce sections this weekend-- usually packaged cleaned and ready to eat. Just cover whatever quantity you cook with chicken stock, add some parsley and a small amount of garlic and onions (add bacon if you want) and with 20 minutes of simmer to dryness you are ready to eat peas the way they were meant to be eaten not too soft, but not too firm. Definitely better than out of a can--which tend to be too cooked. Frozen make a suitable sub. Serve with corn bread or blend into a hopping john (white rice + black eyed peas). yum.. gonna go out and look for those fresh ones right now...
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12-28-2007 @1:45PM LeisureGuy said... Our supermarkets also carry fresh black-eyed peas this time of year. They cook quickly and they're great.

If you Google "Texas caviar" you can find many variants of the black-eyed pea salad. One I like uses black-eyed peas, scallions, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice, olive oil, and salt. I prefer that to the bottled dressing, YMMV.
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12-28-2007 @1:56PM RobynT said... yeah, my mom calls this Cowboy Caviar, but we use balsamic vinegar instead of Italian dressing. and fresh tomatoes. and actually, sub black beans for black-eyed... which sorta defeats the original purpose of this post... it always goes over well though... although it is a little messy for potlucks.
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12-28-2007 @3:12PM Marisa McClellan said... You know, I copied the recipe directly from the email that Jacqueline sent, and she had put the asterisks in to mean that while those items might be hard to find, you should really search for them.
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12-28-2007 @4:48PM caitlin said... It never occurred to me to look for a recipe for black eyed peas, since we always just cooked ours in broth, but that sounds pretty good. I may have to try that for our New Year's celebration.
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12-30-2007 @8:57PM mcw2 said... I made this last night. It's fantastic. Thank you!
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12-31-2007 @12:35PM rob said... We call it "Texas Caviar" and my version uses fresh tomatoes, half black beans & half black-eyed peas, lots of fresh scallions, and hominy corn instead of the shoepeg corn. Use a fresh vinegrette instead of bottled, its much better.
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1-01-2008 @1:21PM J.Susan said... Try this version for your next party, but make sure you have copies printed up 'cause your friends won't want to leave without the recipe!
Texas Caviar:
In saucepan, simmer 1 cup Apple Cider vinegar, 1 cup Olive oil, 1 cup sugar. Remove from heat, set aside. In large bowl, combine:
- 1 can Blackeye peas, rinsed
- 1 can Black beans, rinsed
- 1 can Shoepeg corn, rinsed
- 1 jar Pimentos, finely chopped
- 1 medium Red onion, finely chopped
- 5 medium size stalks Celery, finely chopped
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup jalapeno peppers(from jar) finely chopped
Pour liquid mixture into bowl & stir. Best if made day ahead. Strain liquid out & serve with chips.
(Fritos Scoops are best)
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