When you have lettuce and tomatoes in your CSA share, dinner is not far off! Usually during August my family eats a lot of this salad. We customize it based on our weekly CSA share, layer everything in a big salad bowl and serve it family style. Local grass-fed beef makes this meal really hearty, I used ground beef from Autumn’s Harvest Farm. We love their local-pastured meat!
Week 10 of our CSA Shares also included fresh cilantro. The bunches of fresh herbs in our CSA are usually much larger than those found in a grocery store. One way I like to use them up is mix chopped herbs directly into the lettuce for salads. It makes for a really flavorful salad. Add the cilantro to the salad spinner and wash the cilantro and lettuce together.
Cook the beef on the stovetop, while it’s browning you can chop the other veggies, and grate the cheese. I top this salad with slivers of fried corn tortillas, but you could also serve it with quesadillas or tortilla chips. With all of the ingredients layered together, this salad doesn’t really need dressing. Serve it with lime wedges to squeeze over the top. If you absolutely can’t consider eating salad without dressing, a light tasting vinaigrette will work.
Black Bean Taco Salad
1 head lettuce
1 large tomato
1/2 bunch cilantro bunch, chopped
For the ground beef:
1 lb grass-fed beef
1/2 large onion or 1 spring onion, diced
1/2 large green pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Optional: 1/2 hot peper, like serrano, seeds removed, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
Top with:
grated cheese or queso fresco
2 tortillas, cut into strips, and fried until crispy
1 lime, cut into wedges
Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add spices and green peppers and continue to cook until peppers soften, about 5 minutes. Add beef, and break up with a spatula. Cook until beef is cooked through about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and taste. Add salt if necessary.
Wash lettuce and cilantro. Spin dry in salad spinner, and place in a large bowl or on a large platter. Dice tomato and grate cheese.
Cut tortilla into strips. Heat about 1/4 cup olive or canola oil in skillet. Fry tortilla strips in batches until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Layer ground beef, tomatoes, and cheese over lettuce. Top with fried tortillas, and garnish with limes.
