Well Fed Network

Posted by Elena Rosemond on Fit Fare

One of the hardest things about adjusting to my slowing metabolism and suburban lifestyle has been adapting our favorite recipes into healthier ones. This, unfortunately, has meant giving up a lot of our favorite foods- or at least dramatically reducing how often we eat them.

For instance, my favorite dinner is Taco Night. While our tacos have evolved from Old El Paso-dusted ground beef (I know, I know — at least we made our own salsa?) to something healthier, the overall meal and the portion sizes were just not cutting it. So I weighed the different ingredients and made a pro/con list of everything we put in the tacos. What was unhealthy? What were the ingredients that made the dish so special? A while ago we cut out the cheese and added avocados, which bring a special creaminess so that you don’t really miss the cheese (and this is coming from a cheese addict). Finally, there could be only meat or tortilla - not both. And I find the chipotle and cinnamon rubbed lean cut of steak to be mouthwatering… so goodbye tortilla.

To make up for eliminating the vessel, I decided to make a taco salad. I love taco salads, and I thought this would be the perfect alternative. I built my salad on a foundation of mixed greens (I just don’t like iceberg lettuce, no matter how standard it is in taco salads). The steak is still there in all of its perfectly spiced glory. And then there’s the salsa. Oh my goodness this salsa. It’s a cucumber lime salsa with avocado, red onion, and cilantro.

The last hurdle was the dressing. I wanted something that would compliment all of the flavors I appreciated in the tortilla wrapped form. I wanted it to be light- a vinaigrette if you will (but with acidic fruit juice instead of vinegar). So I used the foundation of the flavor for the salsa- lime, and combined it with a complimentary flavor- ginger. And thus, the Ginger-Lime dressing was born.

The combined effect is glorious. I didn’t find myself missing the tortilla once. I just kept being excited about what I was going to discover with the next bite.

Taco Salad
Serves 2.

½ jalapeño*
½ red onion
1 cucumber, peeled
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
4 cups mixed greens
4 ounces lean steak
4 tbsp fresh cilantro
4 tbsp lime juice
½ lime, peeled
1 tbsp chipotle chile powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 garlic clove
Tortilla chips, to garnish

For the dressing:
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp fresh ginger
4 tbsp lemon juice
¼ cup lime juice
½ cup olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper

Begin by mincing your garlic for the rub. Mix it with the chipotle, cayenne, cinnamon, and some s&p. Rub each side of your steak, and let it sit for 15 minutes or so. Cook steak for 5-7 minutes on each side.
While your steak is cooking, dice jalapeño, cilantro, avocado, cucumber, and onion. Toss these ingredients together with the lime juice. This is your salsa.

When your steak has cooked to a good medium rare, remove it from heat and chunk it. Then, return it to the pan and sauté for an additional 3 minutes.

To make your dressing, finely chop garlic and ginger, and mix with remaining ingredients. It’s totally fine to whisk by hand, but if you like a smoother, more incorporated dressing you can also blend it in the food processor.
To serve, place 2 cups mixed greens on each dish. Top with salsa, steak, and then the fresh limes. Drizzle dressing over, garnish with tortilla chips, and serve.

*How much jalapeño to use really depends on the season. In winter, when jalapeños are more mild, you can use a whole pepper. However, as the weather warms, scale back the amount of jalapeño in the dish so that it’s STRONG flavor doesn’t overwhelm the rest of the salsa.