Chopped Salad with Mexican Ranch Dressing

Another Mexican meal, another salad.  I am terrible at thinking outside the box!  I am working on that (seriously), but before I stray too far from my staples, I had to share this recipe.

This is not a completely original recipe.  I actually got the majority of the recipe from Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook “It’s All Good.”  No, I’m not a huge fan of Gwyneth Paltrow’s comments to the media, but I do appreciate her cooking style.  She eats an extremely clean diet and truly focuses her food and recipes on how they make you look and feel.  I checked her book out at the library earlier this summer and bookmarked several recipes to try.  One of them was her Mexican Green Goddess dressing.

I’m calling my version Mexican Ranch Dressing because: 1. It is not vegan 2. It has mayonnaise and 3. It has buttermilk.  Oops. 😉  Even with these variations, it is a healthy alternative to normal Ranch dressing, and it goes perfectly with the flavors from the salad.  Todd and I loved it and had to resist the urge to grab the bag of tortilla chips and start dipping!

Chopped Salad with Mexican Ranch Dressing

• romaine
• tomatoes
• fresh corn, cut off the cob and steamed or grilled
• black beans
• green onion
• cucumber
• avocado
• cilantro
• Mexican ranch dressing

Wash and chop the vegetables.  Place the romaine in a mixing bowl, and in another bowl, toss together all of the other ingredients.

Once the dressing is ready, toss a little with the romaine, then place the dressed lettuce in serving dishes.  Top with the corn and vegetable mixture and drizzle on more dressing if desired.

Mexican Ranch Dressing

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 buttermilk
• 2 green onions, green part only, chopped*
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/2-1 jalapeño, chopped (I used a little less than 1. Next time I will use more)
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp raw honey

Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until very smooth.  It will be slightly runny.  This should keep for at least several days in a jar in the refrigerator.  I made mine a few hours before eating it so it had time to chill.

*If your onions smell really strong, you may want to use only one.  You could also experiment with using garlic instead of onion.

Another tip: If it tastes too bitter (from the lime or onion) for your liking, try adding a bit more honey and/or a little extra mayonnaise.

This dressing would be perfect on any type of tacos, especially ones with fresh ingredients.  It would also work really well over nachos, or on grilled chicken or fish.  We served our salad with roasted chicken.

 

Thank you for reading!  Enjoy!