Mexican Street Salad
Photography by Benito Martin.
New recipe book This Could Get Messy has over 100 ideas for fun, sharable recipes completely void of pretension. This Mex Street Salad is a stand–out that's great for barbecues and weekend entertaining.
Serves: 4
INGREDIENTS
Honey lime dressing
125 ml (½ cup) lime juice
125 ml (½ cup) extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons runny honey
1 tablespoon American mustard
salt flakes, for seasoning
The salad
500–600 grams boneless, skinless chicken thighs, marinated for 3 hours in Achiote marinade (recipe below)
½ red cabbage, finely shredded
½ white cabbage, finely shredded
120 grams (½ cup) pickled jalapeño chillies, drained and cut into thin rings
2 handfuls tortilla chips, crushed with your hands
1 green mango, flesh cut into matchsticks
1 bunch (60 grams) coriander, stems and leaves roughly chopped
3–4 spring onions, including the green bits, sliced thinly
6–8 radishes, trimmed, finely shaved
60 grams haloumi cheese
Achiote marinade
1½ tablespoons achiote paste* (also called annatto; see our guide to Mexian essentials)
1 fresh jalapeño chilli, seeded and chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
juice of 1 large orange
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
This, for us, is an old-school salad. It’s messy, it’s slaw-based, and replete with barbecued chicken… although left-over fried pork belly also makes a fantastic substitute. What’s not to love?
METHOD
Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue to a medium–high heat. Once hot, grill the chicken for 4–5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through and slightly charred.
Remove from the heat and set aside to rest for a few minutes, before chopping it into bite-sized pieces.
Meanwhile, make the honey lime dressing. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, honey and mustard.
Season to taste with salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, toss together all the salad ingredients, except the haloumi. Give the dressing another whisk and use it to dress the salad.
Add the chopped chicken to the salad and toss to combine. Season with to taste, then transfer the salad to individual serving plates, or a serving platter.
Finely grate the haloumi over the top and serve.
*Pantry note: Annatto seeds or achiote paste is made from garlic, annatto seeds and vinegar. It can be found at specialty food stores.
This Could Get Messy
This is an edited extract from This Could Get Messy by James Wirth, published by Murdoch Books RRP NZD $49.99, available nationwide.
This Could Get Messy is cookbook about 'party food' that's fun, easy to prepare and designed to share – with a drink in hand.
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