Avocado, Cilantro and Lime Dressing with Mexican-style Salad
Description
This dressing and its salad is an integral component of a wonderful Mexican-style meal in our home.
At a Glance
Equipment
No special culinatry equipment is required to prepare this wonderful salad.
Ingredients
For the Mexican-style Salad:
One 6-ounce bag of Mixed Baby Lettuce
1-cup of Green Cabbage, chopped in ¼-inch size pieces
1/4-cup of Red Onion, chopped finely
2 Green Onions, chopped finely
1 large (or 2 small) Tomatoes, chopped into quarter-inch chunks
½-cup of Cheddar Cheese, grated
¼-cup of canned/fresh Sweet Baby Corn, drained of its liquid
One-2.25 ounce can of Black Olives, sliced and drained
¼-cup of Cilantro, chopped
½-1-cup of Tortilla Strips for salads (Santa Fe Style), to your taste preference, or you can substitute your favorite Doritos or Frito Lay Corn Chips, but if you use the Doritos or Frito Lay Corn Chips, then slightly break or crush the chips
For the Avocado, Cilantro and Lime Dressing:
1 large (or 2 small) Avocado(s), mashed
½-cup of Sour Cream (low fat)
¼-cup of Mayonnaise (low fat)
1 lime, juiced (depending on how juicy your lime is, you may want to add more)
2 tablespoons of Cilantro, very finely chopped
2 tablespoons of Red Onion, very finely chopped
¼-teaspoon of Cayenne Ground Pepper
¼-cup of Safflower Oil
Tabasco green pepper or Cholula green pepper sauce; it is to taste, but as a guide, we normally include about 2 tablespoons
1-2 tablespoons of White Wine Vinegar (this is optional, so add it based on your preference for acidity)
Salt and Ground Pepper, to taste
For the Salmon to top the Mexican-Style Salad:
One 4-6-ounce slice of Salmon per person – skin on
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a tablespoon for each piece of salmon
A small portion of the Avocado, Cilantro and Lime Dressing to top the salmon
Directions
To Prepare the Mexican-style Salad:
Toss the ingredients (excluding the chips) for the salad in a salad bowl, and hold it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Add the chips right before adding the dressing and serving.
To Prepare the Avocado, Cilantro and Lime Dressing:
Mash the avocado, and then add the sour cream and mayonnaise. Whisk it all together, and then add the lime juice. Add the cilantro and the red onion. Whisk it all together again. Add the cayenne pepper; add the oil slowly and whisk together once more. Once these ingredients are totally mixed, add in the pepper sauce slowly; again, continue to whisk and add to your taste. If you like your dressing a bit more acidic, add a bit more lime juice and/or add some white wine vinegar to taste (one or two tablespoons). Also, add some salt and ground pepper to taste. When you are ready to serve the salad, add as much dressing – to your taste to the salad – mix/toss and serve.
To Prepare the Salmon to top the Salad:
Use a cast iron pan and add the extra virgin olive oil (the quantity of olive oil will depend on the number of pieces of salmon; for example if you are cooking two pieces of salmon, add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil). Heat the pan with the olive oil in it on medium-high heat, so that it is hot before you put the salmon in it; this should take only a few minutes. Carefully monitor the oil in the pan; it should be hot but be careful to ensure it doesn’t burn or worse, start a fire. Once the pan and the olive oil are hot, add some salt and pepper to the salmon and then add the salmon pieces to the pan – skin side down. Cook the salmon on a medium-high heat to get the skin nice and crispy but without burning or over cooking the salmon. Cover the pan to keep the drippings and salmon from “spitting” out of the pan. The length of cooking will depend on the thickness of the salmon. Use a spatula about half-way through the cooking time to lift the salmon to make sure that it doesn’t stick, then cover it again until it is done. Check the salmon after about 4 or 5 minutes. Cook the salmon to your taste; we prefer our salmon “medium rare”. Once the salmon is done to your taste, move it to a cutting board to cool for about 5 to 10 minutes. Once the salmon is cooled, lay it on top of the Mexican-style Salad and drizzle with the Avocado, Cilantro and Lime Dressing.
Other Serving Suggestions:
Instead of the salmon, you can add also add ground meat that has been cooked with taco seasonings, or some sort of chopped chicken, pork, other seafood or beef that has been cooked with Mexican seasonings. In addition, you could add a ¼-cup of canned black beans that have been rinsed.
