Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey-Lime dressing

I found this recipe recently as I was looking for an easy lime Cilantro dressing I could make at home and really the rest of the recipe (the chopped salad part) sounded good too. I ended up making this when we had to feed a group of missionaries so I actually cooked up a few sirloin steaks to medium rare (let them rest a few minutes so they maintain the juices) and then sliced them up to top the salad with. Then we put the whole salad on top of a tortilla with cheese, of course this would be plenty yummy without the meat and tortilla. Now I know this sort of recipe is not everyone’s cup of tea (speaking to those who have taken on the vegan commitment and those who have special diets, oh and those poor souls who weren’t blessed enough to enjoy the brilliant flavor of cilantro), but we enjoyed it and I’m starting to use this site to store more of those easier everyday recipes I’d make again. Besides, Maren is posting all her vegan recipes on True Lavender these days!

INGREDIENTS:

Salad

• 2 1/2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and well drained
• 3/4 cup chopped seeded tomato
• 3/4 cup chopped peeled jicama (unfortunately this proved hard to find)
• 3/4 cup fresh corn kernels, uncooked (or frozen or canned)
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced radishes
• Half a ripe avocado, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese (I passed on this as we put Monterey Jack cheese on the tortillas)

Honey-Lime Dressing

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp honey (I think its completely appropriate to add more…)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp chopped jalapeño pepper (use canned for less heat – I used dried pepper flakes because its what I had on hand)

PREPARATION

Toss all salad ingredients in a large bowl. In separate bowl, mix dressing ingredients. Pour dressing over mixture and toss again. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

You can find the recipe on this site:  http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mexican-Chopped-Salad-with-Honey-Lime-Dressing-230154#ixzz2SSNYd7bi