When I posted my Bacon Chili Dog Enchilada recipe, a friend commented that it looked really good (it was), but whoa! for cultural appropriation.
Well, just call me The British Museum, ’cause I’m gonna be appropriating like heck with this salad!
Taco seasoned meat, sure, but with French dressing added into the mix for a sweet bit of tang. Then, I ranch brined the avocado slices and added Peruvian pearl peppers.
And…
It was wicked good.
INGREDIENTS
Meat:
•1 tbsp olive oil
•1 lb ground beef
•1/2 bag coleslaw mix
•1 tbsp Sherry Peppers Sauce*
•2 cloves garlic
•1 cup Catalina French dressing
•1 pack taco seasoning mix
•1 tsp steak seasoning
Salad:
•Romaine lettuce, chopped
•Red onion, sliced thin
•1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
•1 avocado, peeled and sliced**
•Peruvian Pearl Peppers – chopped red peppers or jalapeños work, too
•Sliced scallions
•Sliced Persian cucumber
•Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
•Taco seasoned meat, warm
•Doritos – I used Cool Ranch
Dressing:
•Use more French dressing, or ranch
*No Sherry Peppers Sauce? No Problem! Simply add a bit of decent sherry (none of that “cooking” stuff) and a dash or three of your fave hot sauce, to taste.
**I used Pickled Avocado.
Warm the olive oil over medium high heat, then add the ground beef and the coleslaw mix and cook, breaking up the meat into small pieces, until mostly browned. Add the garlic and the Sherry Peppers Sauce and continue to cook, stirring often, until any pan liquids have been cooked off.
Add the taco and steak seasoning, then stir in the French dressing.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring every now and then, until the pan liquids have been mostly cooked off and you are left with not really greasy but very flavorful seasoned beef.
Note: a heavy, non stick pan works a treat.
To make the salad, you can go two ways…
For a crowd, I will scatter some lightly crushed tortilla strips in a large shallow serving bowl (my Dansk paella pan is perfect for this).
Top with the lettuce, then the red onion, black beans, avocado, and peppers.
Scatter the warmed taco meat and shredded cheese over the top, then top it all with Doritos.
This was a smaller salad for just my husband, mom-in-law, and me, so I built each salad individually and used crispy tortilla strips (look by the croutons at the supermarket).
Top this with the warm meat, cheese, and mebbe a few more chips or strips.
We like ours with Ranch dressing, but you do you. You could use more French dressing, if you like.
Note: if you are looking for a really nice home made French dressing, check out My Favorite French Dressing.