Mexi-Side Chopped Salad

Those of you who know me or have been to my house know my fall-back meal for entertaining, particularly for a crowd, is some sort of Mexican taco bar. Sometimes it's straight-up American-style tacos, sometimes it's Tinga and one of these days I'm going to tackle carnitas.

And while I love the ease, convenience and deliciousness of Mexican food, I struggle sometimes with what to serve WITH it. Yeah, I made guac and salsa. And there's always rice and beans. But that's all so heavy and not-so-good for you. As such, I'm always looking for a veg-based side that "matches" the Mexican idea. (My resident Mexican expert says vegetable side dishes aren't as prevalent in her mother-in-law's kitchen as they are in typical meat-starch-veg American meals, complicating the mission.)

So when I ran across this recipe, I marked it. Then made some tweaks. I made it yesterday and like it. Better for summer than winter, to be sure, but still good.

Mexi-Veg with Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette

Salad:
2c corn kernels
1c chopped jicama
3/4 to 1c chopped red onion
1c chopped red (or yellow or green) pepper
1/2 c black olives, chopped
1c crumbled queso fresco
1 jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped
1 avocado, chopped


Dressing:
1/8c freshly squeezed lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
1/8c rice wine vinegar
1/4 to 1/2c canola oil (Classic oil to vinegar ratio for a simple dressing is 3:1, but I think it's too heavy for this dressing. So this is a 1:1 or 2:1. But you know what you like ... adjust to your personal tastes.)
1 to 2T minced garlic
1 to 2T minced cilantro
1t salt
1t sugar

Dump all the chopped salad stuff in a big bowl. Add other veg if you like them or take away what you don't like. Celery or even water chestnuts would be a good swap for the jicama, but I prefer the jicama. I keep an old salsa jar and mix the dressing in that. Shake, shake, shake to mix. Adjust the salt and sugar to taste. I don't always need all of the dressing ... but if you make the salad a day ahead, having a little extra dressing on hand is good because sometimes you need to add it before serving.