Use fresh corn for this easy salsa

… Cowboy Caviar, and a nod to its creator, Helen Corbitt

On the heels of my last two blogs, which were more of the catastrophic-type. . .  

(I do realize that’s a bit of hyperbole. My life is good, and I am fortunate and thankful! And I’m lucky that these should be among the worst things to happen to me recently.)

. . . I am offering up a pleasant, easy and minimalist veggie recipe for fresh corn.

I have used canned also, but this three-ingredient recipe lets fresh seasonal corn take the spotlight.

I’ve always called it Cowboy Caviar, but have seen recipes calling it Texas Caviar, too. I have also seen it called salsa, salad, appetizer and dip.

From Allrecipes:

It was invented in 1940 by Helen Corbitt in Texas. Corbitt, who later became the food service director for the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, first served the dish on New Year's Eve at the Houston Country Club.

So why is it called "cowboy caviar?" The dish got its tongue-in-cheek name when Corbitt served it at the Driskill Hotel in Austin — it's meant to be a funny comparison to true caviar, which is much more expensive and difficult to come by.

I’m amused that Corbitt was a native New Yorker.

In a TexasMonthly article about her:

Like an alchemist, she transformed prosaic black-eyed peas for the dinner, adding some garlic, onion, vinegar, and oil and christening them “Texas Caviar.” Neiman Marcus would later sell thousands of cans of the stuff.

You will find many variations out there. Trader Joe’s makes a version that’s okay, but this is so easy to make, why not make your own?

I’ll link the Allrecipes version at end, as well as one from the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute that they call Helen Corbitt’s Texas Caviar and credit to Saveur. Also a link to her story from TexasMonthly.

Here’s my minimalist version. This is perfect to make now, when local corn is abundant and cheap, so get the eight ears, cook them all for dinner, and with whatever is left over, spend a few minutes throwing this together. 

This recipe uses three ears of corn. The jalapenos are Trader Joe’s Hot & Sweet (my favorite). I also use TJ’s black beans.

Find a deeper flat-bottomed bowl for the first step, because this part can be a bit messy, with kernels everywhere, and you want to be on a steady surface.

Stand the cob of cooked corn in the bowl and use a shorter knife to cut the kernels off, slicing downward, moving from top to bottom. Rotate around each side of the cob, till all is in bowl and then gently separate the rows with a fork if they came off together. This should take just a few minutes.

Find your serving bowl. 

Place the corn in there, then add:

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

½ red onion, chopped

Juice of one freshly squeezed lime

4 slices of jalapeño, chopped (or to taste)

2 tablespoons juice from jalapeño jar (same)

1 tablespoon Rose’s Lime Juice (yes, I use both fresh lime and Rose’s)

Dash each of salt, paprika, garlic powder

Modify as you like, but this gets better as it marinates overnight, so go gently.

You can always adjust later. Customize as desired. It will last a few days.

Serve with tortilla chips or as a side dish. That’s it!

Enjoy this last taste of summer!

Go to Allrecipes Cowboy Caviar for more variations.

This one from the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market Institute.

And the Corbitt story here. It’s a long one, but worth the read. She was the Martha Stewart of her day.