Cinco de Mayo Salad with Avocado Cilantro Dressing

This salad was inspired by the Mexican Caesar Salad at El Torito Restaurant.

I used to always buy the dressing from the restaurant, but the one nearby closed, so I've had to learn how to make a pepita dressing at home.

This salad is perfect to serve along side carne asada or fish tacos for Cinco de Mayo--or any day!

Make a salad with all the fixings--romaine & red leaf lettuce, red cabbage, tomatoes, black olives, yellow peppers, black beans, corn, etc.

Make it with everything you like in it.

Here are the ingredients for the dressing:

2 anaheim chiles, roasted and peeled (canned or fresh)

2 cups avocado

1/3 cup roasted pepitas

1/3 cup cotija cheese

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 bunches fresh cilantro

1 cup water

 Put all the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend.

Add enough water, a little at a time, until the dressing turns itself over in the blender.

Canned Ortega chiles are a lot less trouble than roasting fresh.

 No need to cut them up, they'll get blended.

1 teaspoon pepper, unless you're a pepper lover, then add 2.

Add 1 teaspoon salt.

The cotija cheese is salty, so 1 teaspoon is enough.

Add 1/3 cup crumbled cheese.

This avocado is starting to get a little old, but the skin still comes off in one piece.

When they get older, the skin breaks into pieces--that's when it's better to scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

About 2 cups of avocado is about 3 medium sized ones.

Here's a good one, the skin comes away easily and clean.

Perfectly ripe.

The 2 cups doesn't need to be firmly packed.

Add the pepitas and cilantro into the blender.

Then add the lemon and lime juice.

Blend.

Add water, a little at a time, until the dressing is mixed thoroughly.

This is a little thick, but it's good like that, too.

You can make this a day ahead, the lime juice will keep it from turning brown.

Mix the dressing into the salad.

That's looking good!

Fry a few thinly sliced tortillas in hot oil to make some crispies for the top of the salad.

I like to add some cotija cheese crumbles and sliced avocado in my salad, even though it's in the dressing.

¡Buen provecho!

(Enjoy your meal!)

***

This is my niece Paige.

When she was little, she said a lot of funny things that we all remember.

We call them Paige-isms.

We all say them from time to time and I remember Paige at the age she said them.

When Paige was about this age, she said,

"I seen him bottom."

She saw Grandpa, in a towel, coming out of the bathroom after a shower.

We say that whenever we see something really funny.

Paige-ism:

"Let me pitch."

The kids were playing baseball in Grandma's front yard.

Paige must have said, "Let me pitch." a hundred times.

We say that whenever we want our turn at something.

Paige-ism:

"Aaaaaaaah---CO-CO-NUT!"

Paige loves See's candy.

When she was little she used to gaze into a box of See's candy and carefully make her choice.

She bit into a chocolate, and yelled,

"Aaaaaaaah--CO-CO-NUT!"

While running to the bathroom to spit out the candy.

We say that whenever there's something we really don't like.

Rick, Karen, Gary and I went to a benefit concert several years ago to see a wide array of artists sing for a cause.

I don't really remember who was there or what the cause was.

But I definitely remember one artist.

Karen said,

"Aaaaaaah--CO-CO-NUT!'" 

When Dwight Yoakam started singing.

Paige-isms pop up at the funniest times.

Gary and I traveled to San Jose over the weekend and listened to a country radio station broadcasting from Bakersfield.

When I heard a song by Dwight Yoakam, I thought of Karen, Paige,

And coconut.

Paige and her family now live in Hawaii.

We don't get to see her often enough.

She will be visiting this summer for a family wedding.

We're looking forward to seeing her.

And maybe look for another Paige-ism.

Love you, Paige!

Can't wait to see you!

No printable recipe for this one, yet.