31. Mexican Caesar Salad

Friends often send me suggestions and recipes for salads, and I love to try them and share them here.  Earlier this week my friend, Aracely White, sent me a text, suggesting I try a Mexican Caesar Salad with a Cilantro Dressing.  My first thought was, “isn’t Caesar Salad already Mexican?”   I double-checked that fact, and yep.  Originally made by Caesar Cardini in Tijuana, Mexico.  So I had to figure out what sets this salad apart.

The only resemblance between the two salads appears to be the romaine lettuce.  I did some research and found the cilantro dressing that both looks legit, and most popular.  Honestly, it was love at first taste when this stuff came out of the food processor.  The salad itself is quite simple.  Since I’ve never had it before, I don’t know if I jazzed it up too much beyond its simple origins.  But I have to say that it’s beyond yummy, and may take the place of my coveted classic Caesar in the future!

Ingredients

2 romaine hearts, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped (my garden is full of tomatoes so I used 1 red and 1 orange heirloom)

1 small red onion, chopped

1/3 cup green pepitas, roasted (green raw pumpkin seeds)

1 cup grated Cotija cheese (crumbly, salty Mexican cheese)

4 corn tortillas, cut into strips and fried to crispy

2 Tbsp salad oil (for frying the corn tortillas)

Cilantro Dressing

2 medium Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/3 cup green pepitas, roasted 

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

8 oz light olive oil or other mild salad oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

5 Tbsp grated Cotija cheese 

2 medium bunches of cilantro

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

The dressing is definitely the labor intensive part of this salad.  You want to make it first and get it in the fridge.  You can actually make it a day or two ahead of time.  Apparently it tastes “even better,” although I don’t see how that’s possible as it’s already uber delish.  

First roast the chiles.  I’ll admit I was winging it a bit here.  I coated them lightly in olive oil, set them on a cookie sheet in a 450〫oven, and let the heat do the rest.  Check on them after 10 minutes; you’ll notice that the outer skin is starting to blister and turn brown.  Rotate them and leave them for another 10 minutes.  They should be golden to dark brown in color.  Remove them from the oven, and if you have time, set them aside.  I was in a hurry to get the dressing done so I put the hot peppers in ice water, which worked great.  Peel the blistered skin off the outside, trim off the tops and remove the seeds.  

While your chiles are in the oven, roast your pepitas.  You can easily do this on the stove top.  Add green pepitas to a heavy, hot skillet.  They’ll start to pop almost right away.  You want to flip them regularly so they don’t burn.  You’re going for an overall golden color.  When you get them to that point, remove from the heat and from the pan so they stop cooking.

Place all of the dressing ingredients except cilantro, mayonnaise and water in a food processor.  Process well until it looks combined and uniform.  Then, add the cilantro, 1/3 at a time, and process each addition until it’s smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise and the water until smooth.  Then add it to the food processor with the rest of dressing and pulse until well combined.

Transfer the dressing into a quart jar and refrigerate.

Now assemble the salad.  Choose a large, flat-ish bowl.  Start with the romaine, then add the chopped tomatoes, onions, cheese and roasted pepitas.  Top with the fried corn tortilla strips and serve with the dressing.  

Grilled chicken would be great with this salad, and would turn it into a dinner salad.

Enjoy!

Serves 4