Mexican salad

Yum

I love a good burrito.  So I wanted to throw together an easy and healthy warm salad based on the flavours I love.  One of my favourite things about burritos is how easy they are to prep and throw together.  One of our key interests of late is to learn how to do more tasty warm salads.  Especially after we both packed on a few kilos over Christmas.  So here is a very basic and tasty meal which even the most beginner cook can master.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 500g lean beef mince
• 1 baby cos lettuce, sliced
• 1 punnet of perino/grape/cherry tomatoes
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/2 spanish onion
• 1/4 cup grated cheese
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 red capsicum, diced
• 1 jar of salsa (spiced to your taste)
• juice of 1 lime

Spice Mix

• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander seed
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/4 tsp either Mexican Chilli or Cayenne Pepper
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp water
• juice of  1/2 a lime

Potential Spins

Substitute a pack of taco seasoning for my spice mix.  Switch up for any other ingredients you like in your burrito.  Swap diced steak for the mince.  Of course you could marinate this in a fajita marinade rather than adding the spice mix.  Add in some Spanish rice.  If you are going to do this, then I can recommend my favourite recipe here.  Other tasty options include adding corn, jalepinos, crushed corn chips as part of the salad, and topping with sour cream, guacamole (instead of the avocado chunks), or pico de gallo (fresh salsa mix) on top.

Method

1. Mix the spice mix ingredients 
   
2. Brown the mince in your frypan.  Once it is browned, clear a portion of the pan and add the spice mix and cook for about 1 minute or until fragrant.  Then stir the mix through the mince.
3. Add  salsa and drained beans, stir through.
   
   
   
4. Mix salad ingredients, add mince, top with cheese and avocado.
   

Mucho sabroso!

Our Take Aways

This is an easy mid week meal.  It takes very little work and makes a tasty two nights for the Dragon and I.  Best enjoyed with a cold beer.