Hungry Hubby and I just love Mexican food. It’s good that we don’t leave near a Wahaca restaurant for the sake of both our wallets and waistlines. Instead, we indulge in homemade quesadillas, enchiladas and burritos to feed our need for some Mexican magic. It’s such fresh tasting food when it’s done well, what with all that lime juice and chilli to awaken your taste buds.

If you moderate the amount of oil you cook with, choose leaner meats, and go easy on the queso and sour cream you use it’s a really nutritious cuisine. The thing is, when we eat Mexican at home, it drives me and Hungry Hubby mad to have dozens of dinky bowls to wash up which hold all those absolutely essential side dishes like guacamole, salsa, grated cheese, refried beans, sweetcorn, sour cream etc etc etc. Argh! Not a fast dinner to lay out nor clear up from.

These days, we simply make up a big Mexican Salad Bowl which encompasses all those favourite fixin’s. If you’re having it with fajitas especially, then there is no reason to lay it out separately as it’s all going in the tortilla immediately before it’s applied to face!

Mexican Salad-4

It’s a hearty salad which is substantial and tasty enough to eat without anything else plus it will keep for 24 hours in the fridge if you’re not me and don’t get greedy at the site of all that colourful, crisp deliciousness. A different way to enjoy this Mexican Salad Bowl is to serve it with a couple of fried eggs, extra sliced avocado and sriracha.

To me, this is food for breakfast, lunch or dinner but I concede not all will want a salad at breakfast time! Yes, the generous lashings of Sriracha (a Thai chilli sauce) are cross-cultural but for me, all that vicious, salty heat I simply can not get enough of is perfect on eggs and avocado alike. It’s addictive if you haven’t tried yet, so don’t say you weren’t warned!

Although the point of this salad is to get all your favourite things together in one bowl and quickly too, if you are serving this to people who don’t like all the components, simply build piles of each ingredient in a large shallow dish which also creates a beautiful rainbow of vegetables for the fussier eaters in your life to pick and mix. Wedges of lime will do for the dressing in such circumstance.

Mexican Salad Bowl

All the elements you love from fajitas made super fast in one big salad bowl. Great as an accompaniment or a meal in itself. A very handy recipe to have.

Servings: 2
: 321 kcal
Author: Just Jo
Ingredients
  • 1 can of black beans about 400g, washed and drained well
  • 1 small can of sweetcorn about 200g, washed and drained
  • 6-8 cherry tomatoes sliced in half
  • 1 ripe avocado diced
  • 2-3 spring onions finely sliced
  • 1 clove of garlic minced
  • Juice of a lime
  • 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 3 tbsp grated cheese*
  • A quarter of an ice berg lettuce cut into large chunks
  • 1 small carrot grated
Optional
  • Sour cream to serve
  • Extra lime wedges
Instructions
  1. Place the drained beans and corn in a large bowl then add all the ingredients down to the cheese. Toss well to distribute the dressing throughout the salad.
  2. Serve by topping with the grated cheese and tuck the lettuce and carrot around the sides of the chopped salad (or serve in a separate bowl). Serve the sour cream in a small bowl if liked.
  3. If serving fussier folk, simply use a large platter and pile the ingredients on, one by one, side by side so your guests can take what they like. Wedges of lime are always a good idea to season as you go.
Recipe Notes

* = Double Gloucester is my go to all purpose cheese but use whatever you like most - chunks of feta or griddled halloumi would be great.

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