Mexican Salad

5-Mexican salad

By Thelmadatter (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

If you are on a diet, then salads should be your best friend. However, what people find difficult about salads is the fact that it is not filling. Most people are fine with a salad as an appetizer or a part of the meal but not as a meal on whole. However, with right ingredients at hand, tossing up a wholesome salad isn’t that tough. If you are thinking of whipping up a filling salad for lunch then try Drilldoggy’s Mexican salad. This salad is refreshing, crunchy and full of flavors all at once.

The use of beef gives a hearty touch to the salad. However, you can spike up its yum quotient further by adorning the platter with crab meat, shrimp or tuna strips thus giving it a fresh seafood makeover. But the guacamole dressing remains the best part about this salad as it sets the Mexican mood in the dish and makes it healthy at the same time.

So whether you serve it for lunch as a main course or as a side dish, this easy breezy Mexican salad will surely win hearts (and taste buds!).

Ingredients:

Serves: 2-4

  • 1 lb ground beef
  • ½ yellow onion,diced
  • 1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 can (14 oz) green chilies, diced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • ½ tsp cayenne pepper
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the guacamole dressing:

  • 1 avocado, halved, stoned and pulp scooped out
  • ½ lime, juiced
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Brown the ground beef in a saucepan over moderately high heat until it is partially cooked and stir in the garlic as well as onions.
  • Sprinkle a dash each of ground cumin, salt, oregano, cayenne as well as black pepper over them and stir to mix well.
  • Empty the can of tomatoes and green chilies into the mixture and give them a nice stir until evenly incorporated.
  • Reduce the mixture to a simmer and splash in some lime juice.
  • Stir until well combined and remove from heat.
  • To make the guacamole, dump all its ingredients into a medium bowl and stir to mix well while mashing the avocado pulp at the same time.
  • Add large dollops of the guacamole on top of the Mexican salad and stir to coat well.
  • Serve right away.