I specify romaine lettuce in this recipe because your greens need to be fairly sturdy to go with the substantial add-ins. I don’t think spring mix would work as well, but if you’re pressed for time then go for it. If you want to really be fancy you can make some crispy tortilla strips with leftover corn tortillas by giving them a quick fry. Or (I guess) you could just top the salad with some crumbled up corn chips. What a thought.
Mexican Salad with Chili Dressing
This style of salad would fit in well with any type of vaguely Mexican meal. As is often the case with my material, it's more a set of directions/ideas than a set recipe. You can tweak the ingredients to your liking.
Ingredients
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup lemon or lime juice Lime is probably better, but go with what you have.
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 tablesooon taco seasoning or to taste
- 1/8 tsp., unflavored gelatin Optional, but this will help keep the dressing emulsified and also thicken it slightly.
Salad (all ingredients amounts are to taste and in any combination except for the lettuce)::
- Romaine lettuce washed, spun dry, torn into bite-size pieces
- Sliced red onion
- Sliced black olives
- Kidney or black beans, drained and rinsed Especially good to include if you're serving vegetarians and your main course includes meat.
- Corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- Crispy tortilla strips or crumbled chips To stand in for routons
Instructions
For the dressing:
-
Whisk or blend thoroughly. If you make the dressing ahead of time you'll probably have to re-whisk this, especially if you didn't use the gelatin.
For the salad:
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Combine ingredients in a large bowl, excluding tortilla chips or strips, pour dressing over and toss. Top with tortilla chips/strips, if using. They add a nice crunch.
