Tex Mex Salad

A bright, delicious salad perfect for lunchtime or a light dinner. This Tex Mex salad is packed with big flavours and textures from smoky adzuki beans to tangy, spicy jalapenos, to crunchy tortilla strips. It's the type of salad you actually want to eat!

This salad is packed full of the good stuff; adzuki beans are not only packed with protein and will help to steady your blood sugar, but they're a great source of fibre, iron and folate too. Kale is packed with vitamin K, A, C and many more - essential for blood clotting, eye health and growth and repair, respectively. The fresh veggies in this contain a whole array of nutrients too, like vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, the latter of which are essential for our muscles and nerves to work correctly.

A salad you can enjoy eating and feel good about it (and afterwards too!). If you're not eating straight away, you can store the tortilla chips in an airtight container and add them to your salad just before serving. The salad will generously serve 2 as a main meal, or why not serve as a side to taco night and split between 4.

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Tex Mex Salad | Serves: 2 (main), 4 (side) | Time: 10-15 mins

You'll need

• Saucepan + lid
• Knife
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Baking tray + greaseproof paper
• Mixing bowl

Ingredients

• 4 large handfuls shredded kale
• Juice 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 small wholemeal tortilla
• 1 cup adzuki beans
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 large handfuls mixed salad leaves
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 red pepper
• 3-inch piece cucumber 
• 1 small avocado
• 1/2 cup sweetcorn
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• Pickled jalapenos 
• 2 tbsp crispy salad onions (optional)
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Cut the tortilla into thin strips and place on a lined baking tray, bake for ~5 minutes until slightly golden and crisp. They catch fast, so keep a close eye on them!
2. Add the kale to a saucepan, pour over the lime juice, sprinkle in the salt and put the lid on. Add to a medium heat and stir a few times, allowing the kale to wilt. Remove from the heat and allow to cool whilst you prep the rest of the salad.
3. Add the adzuki beans to a mixing bowl and combine with the garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, liquid smoke and soy sauce.
4. Now prep the veg; chop the cherry tomatoes, slice the pepper into small pieces, the cucumber into quarter pieces and the avocado into chunks. Peel and thinly slice the red onion, chop the herbs and roughly chop up the jalapenos should you wish to. 
5. To assemble the salad, start with the lime kale, then add the salad leaves and beans. Scatter over the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, red onion, sweetcorn and avocado and then top with the herbs, jalapenos, tortilla strips and crispy salad onions. Season with salt and pepper as required, then serve up and enjoy!

Cassidy xx