Fiesta Salad

If you know anything about me and my food preferences, you know that two of my favorite things to eat are salad and anything Mexican. I am actually somewhat obsessive about both. I eat salad for lunch just about every day, and we have been known to have Mexican-themed dinners several times a week.

Although we have several Mexican cookbooks in our collection, I often prefer creating my own recipes. I threw together this salad in a matter of minutes using farm-fresh lettuces (choose something hardy and crunchy, like Romaine) and grilled chicken.

I tossed frozen organic corn kernels in a cast iron pan to warm them and seasoned them with a few grinds of Trader Joe's South African Smoke seasoning, which contains smoked paprika, sea salt, garlic and basil. The warm corn added a nice texture to the salad.

Before assembling the salad, I chopped and seasoned a handful of organic cherry tomatoes and added a splash of extra virgin olive oil to make them extra juicy.

I topped the salad with sliced avocado, chopped scallions and a creamy cilantro-lime garlic dressing. For one serving, mince and then lightly sauté a small clove of garlic. Place it in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, a handful of finely minced cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.

 

This salad would also be delicious with a drizzle of homemade salsa.