Southwest Salad with Creamy Avocado Salsa Dressing
Yield: 6-8 Servings
Ingredients:
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
fresh corn kernels from 1 ear of sweet corn
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup roasted and salted Pepita or sunflower seeds
1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese
Tortilla Strips for Salads (Fresh Gourmet Santa Fe Style)
Creamy Avocado Salsa Dressing
1 small avocado, peeled and sliced
1 small Jalapeno, seeded, deveined and roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro
1/4 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup smooth salsa (medium for more of a kick)
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar (If using Greek Yogurt, you may need to add more sugar)
juice from 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
hot sauce
Directions:
Put all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Add hot sauce and additional salt and pepper to taste.
Add salad ingredients to a large bowl except for the tortilla strips and toss.
Toss salad with desired amount of dressing (there will probably be some left over) or drizzle dressing over individual servings if not eating all of the salad immediately.
Garnish salad with tortilla strips and freshly cracked salt and pepper.
