Mexican Chopped Salad with Chorizo, Avocado, and Cilantro Lime Dressing

Salads of all kinds have become my weeknight meal go-to option of late. We have them at least twice a week, if not more. They are such a great way to get in multiple servings of veggies while also being quick and relatively simple to prepare, which is pretty much all I’m looking for after a full day of work while trying to get kids snacks, help with homework, etc. Chopped salads in particular have been on my mind since Josie started it all with the fabulous grilled summer veggie chopped salad and then went and made an equally awesome winter version. I also wasn’t kidding when I mentioned we might very well eat Mexican food for the entire month of May, and this salad was a perfect way to marry these two current obsessions.

To be honest, I’ve made a few attempts at similar salads over the past year but something about each of them was missing the mark. Finally I found what I was looking for – this is The One. Usually very talkative during dinner, I think the only words from Andrew through this meal were “Yum!” and “This is so awesome!” between bites (and between reminders from us not to talk with his mouth full.) This will surely be on heavy rotation for us for the next few months and probably far into the future. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Yield about 4 servings

Ingredients

For the dressing:

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ to 1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

For the salad:

8 oz. chorizo (about 2 links)
About 1 to 1½ lbs. butter lettuce, coarsely chopped
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
3-4 oz. cotija, crumbled
2 ripe avocados, pitted and chopped
1 cup cooked corn kernels (from about 2 cobs)

Directions

01
To make the dressing, combine the lime juice and garlic in a liquid measuring cup or the bowl of a small food processor. Let stand 5-10 minutes. Add in the olive oil and cilantro and process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Adjust lime juice and olive oil as necessary. Set aside.
02
Cook the chorizo in a heavy skillet over medium heat, turning to cook all sides, until browned and cooked through (the internal temperature should read 160˚ F on an instant read thermometer.) Remove to a cutting board and let rest. Meanwhile, divide the lettuce between serving plates. Slice the chorizo into bite-sized pieces. Top each portion of lettuce with some of the tomatoes, crumbled cotija, avocado, chorizo and corn. Drizzle each portion with some of the dressing. Serve immediately.
03
Notes:
- Cook the corn however you prefer, or not at all. Raw corn off of the cob is delicious as well, and obviously even less work. I wouldn’t fire up a grill just for this recipe, so I cooked mine in a cast iron skillet with a tiny bit of olive oil.
- For a vegetarian version, skip the chorizo and replace with some cooked and well seasoned black beans or pinto beans.
- For a bit of creamier dressing, try blending in half of a ripe avocado. Adjust remaining flavors to taste.