This is a favorite salad around this house. It is a single entree meal with a large base of fresh raw vegetables, topped with an official depression buster food -- beef. This particular beef comes from a steer featured on this site back in February in "I Met My Meat."
I apologize for the over-exposed video, but I guarantee that the salad itself was anything but washed out. Here's what mom has to say about enchilada salads:
To watch the video, click the "play" button in the picture below or go to this page on YouTube.
Ingredients:
4 cups Taco meat
4 cups Enchilada sauce (your own or mine)
1 head torn up Romaine, tossed with olive oil and crushed garlic
12 Tomato wedges or 2 cups fresh tomato salsa
12 Whole black olives
2 cups Shredded jack cheese
Minced cilantro leaves
2 avocados, cut in wedges
1 cup sour cream
Steps
1. Reheat the taco meat if prepared ahead of time.
2. Arrange the lettuce on 4 plates.
3. Pile 1 cup of meat on each lettuce mound.
4. Pour enchilada sauce over the meat and lettuce. Have extra to serve on the side
5. Arrange tomato, avocado, and black olives on each plate.
6. Sprinkle with cheese
7. Top with sour cream and a sprinkle of coriander.
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Taco Meat
2 pounds grass fed ground beef
2 large onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 bay leaves
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons crushed oregano or three branches of fresh oregano
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Steps
1. Heat a large, heavy skillet and add the olive oil
2. Fry the garlic and bay leaves for almost 1 minute and then add the onions. Fry until the onion is limp and just beginning to brown.
3. Add the ground beef, breaking it up with the spatula and stirring it into the onion mixture. Stir occasionally as it cooks.
4. When the meat is thoroughly cooked and the liquid from the meat is evaporated, you should see oil in the bottom of the skillet. Great! Now add the chili powder and let it sizzle in the oil for a minute.
5. Now add the cumin, coriander and crushed oregano (unless you are using fresh, in which case, hold off a few more minutes on the oregano). Stir it in well and allow to simmer for another ten minutes or so.
6. If you are using fresh oregano, at this point turn off the heat. Lay the oregano branches on top of the meat and cover with a good-fitting lid. Allow this to sit and steam for about another ten minutes. The aroma is amazing!
7. Now your meat is ready to use in a variety of ways.
8. Try doubling or tripling this recipe so you have plenty for later. It keeps for a week if well refrigerated and freezes very nicely.
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Enchilada Sauce
1 quart chicken stock
¾ cup flour
4 tablespoons mild chili powder
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
Salt to taste
Steps
1. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet with deep sides.
2. Sizzle the chili powder in the oil for a minute or less. Very important: don't burn the chili powder! What you are doing is roasting the chili powder in oil which releases a wonder flavor. This is a key to good sauce.
3. Still mixing the roasting chili powder with a metal whisk, add the flour and keep stirring to blend the two ingredients.
4. Slowly add the chicken stock and keep stirring. Stir until thickened.
5. Check for salt. Depending on the salt level of the chicken broth, you may not need any more.
6. Use your sauce immediately or store it in a glass container in the refrigerator. It will keep for a week. This does not freeze well for some reason.
7. Use the sauce for enchiladas, tacos, enchilada salad, omelets, as a base for a soup.
