Honey Chipotle Mexican Salad

A childhood favorite, Mexican Salad, gets a facelift.

When I was a kid, a staple quick dinner in our house was Mexican Salad. You know, chopped ice berg or romaine lettuce, Ranch Style Beans, tomatoes, shredded cheese, catalina dressing, all topped off with a bag of fritos. Adding fritos to lettuce is a sure fire way to get kids to eat their greens.

This week I got invited to a Craft Night at a friend’s house. Let me just pause to say, wow. This working mom of two young kids hosts craft nights at her house every few months for 20-30 women. She gathers all the supplies, plans games and doorprizes, and even cooks dinner for everyone. People who handle this type of entertaining with ease simply amaze me. When I grow up, I want to be more like my friend Autumn.

Festive decorations, silly games (I drew that picture on my head), and adorable crafty ornaments.

The menu was a taco bar with requests for guests to bring a side or dessert. When I’m not sure there will be much for a vegan to eat, I like to bring a hearty side that will work as a main dish for me, but compliment the host’s meal and be a yummy side for others. That childhood Mexican Salad popped into mind as a perfect compliment to a taco bar. I decided to give it a facelift though. The thought of bottled dressing, packaged fritos, and flavorless iceberg lettuce made me cringe a little. Instead, I made a homemade sweet and spicy catalina dresssing using honey and a chipotle pepper. Because I needed the dish to travel easily, I decided to use kale instead of romaine or ice berg. Kale can be dressed ahead of time without wilting, making it the perfect green for make-ahead salads. Plus it’s a beautiful deep green, adding color to the table and it packs a ton of nutrition, not my first priority for party food, but certainly a bonus. Instead of fritos, I fried tortilla strips and sprinkled them with chipotle powder, salt, and lime juice. Covered in crispy fried chips, kale never looked so good!

I loved loved this. A few guests found it to be a little on the spicy side, so if you don’t like spice, you can seed the chipotle and use paprika instead of chipotle powder on the chips. You’ll still get all the flavor without the heat.

Delicious, filling, entree or side salad.

Honey Chipotle Mexican Salad

Serves 2-3 entree servings, 6-8 side servings

Ingredients

Dressing:

1 chipotle in adobo sauce (freeze remaining chipotles for future recipes) (remove seeds for mild version)
1/3 c. sweet onion chopped
1/3 c. organic ketchup
1/3 c. vinegar
1/3 c. canola oil
1/4 c. honey (or agave)

Salad:

1 large bunch of kale or 2 small bunches, washed and torn off spine
2 cans vegetarian chili beans (I used Bush’s brand), drained and lightly rinsed
2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced

Tortilla Strips:

8 corn tortillas, cut into small strips
canola oil
salt
chipotle chili pepper powder (if you can’t find this, paprika or smoked paprika will work too)
1/2 a lime

Directions

In a blender, combine all the dressing ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Sweet, tangy, spicy. You’ll never want a bottle of boring Catalina dressing again!

Put the kale in a large bowl and make sure the pieces are bite size. Pour in the dressing and use your hands to massage it into the kale. Get in there and really rub it in. You want to break the fibers of the kale down so it’s easier to chew.

The secret to good kale salads is to massage the greens.

Gently stir in beans, tomatoes and avocados. (If you aren’t serving soon, hold off on chopping and adding avocados until you are about to serve.)

In a heavy duty skillet, heat about 1/2 inch of canola oil on medium heat. When oil is ready it will sizzle when you drop a tortilla strip in. Drop in a handful of tortilla strips at a time, fry for 1-2 minutes until they are crispy. Set aside on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with just a little chipotle powder, salt, and lime juice. Repeat until all are cooked.

Just before serving, add the fried tortilla strips.

Easy to transport. Just bring the tortilla strips on the side and add them when you arrive at your destination.

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This was printed from: We Laugh, We Cry, We Cook