Mediterranean Cowboy Caviar

• servings: 12 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

Chermoula Sauce:

2 Cloves Garlic

1 Serrano Pepper

Juice from 1/2 Lemon (freshly squeezed)

1 Cup Fresh Parsley (packed)

1/2 Cup Fresh Cilantro (packed)

1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/2 Tsp Cumin

1/2 Tsp Dried Coriander

1/2 Tsp Salt

Black Pepper (to taste)

Salad:

1 15 oz Can Black-Eyed Peas

1 15 oz Can Cannellini Beans

1 Cup Green Bell Pepper (chopped)

1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes (chopped)

1 Cup Cucumber (de-seeded and chopped)

1/2 Red Onion (chopped)

1/2 Tsp Salt

3/4 Cup Feta

Directions

To begin, make the chermoula. Prep all of your ingredients - cut off the stem of the serrano pepper, cut in half, then remove the ribs and seeds (or you can keep them if you really like spice!). Give the pepper a rough chop, then peel the garlic.

Add the serrano pepper, garlic, and the juice from 1/2 a lemon to the food processor, and process those alone until the garlic is totally minced. Let everything sit in the lemon juice for about a minute, to mellow out the raw garlic.

Then, add the rest of the chermoula ingredients to the food processor and process until you have a chunky pesto-ish consistency. Don't overblend - you still want chunks of herbs instead of a totally smooth paste. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking. I added more lemon juice because I like the tangy flavor!

When done, let the chermoula rest while you make the rest of the recipe.

For the cowboy caviar, prep the vegetables as follows: Dice up a green bell pepper until you have 1 cup. Cut your cucumber in half lengthwise, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon (save them in the freezer for smoothies!). Then, dice the cucumber until you have one cup. Dice 1/2 of a red onion, and dice cherry tomatoes until you have 1 cup.

Add all of the chopped veggies to a large bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Mix well.

Rinse, drain, and pat dry your cans of black-eyed peas and cannellini beans. (If using homemade, use 1 1/2 cups of each.) Add them to the bowl with the veggies.

Pour as much or as little of the chermoula over the cowboy caviar as you'd like, and mix. Reserve any leftover chermoula for marinades or salads.

Serve the cowboy caviar with chips, and enjoy!

Nutrition

• Calories: 93 kcal
• Total Fat: 7 g
• Saturated Fat: 2 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
• Cholesterol: 8 mg
• Sodium: 354 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 3 g