Cinco de Mayo Recipe – Mexi-Cali Salad Con Asada

Cinco de Mayo is coming up in a few days. For those of you that have had zero access to information or popular culture the past couple decades, this is basically the equivalent of the Fourth of July for Mexico. In this country it’s celebrated more like St. Patrick’s Day however, with a bunch of drunk white kids pretending they are a different nationality for a day, and embarassing themselves in the process.

One of the best parts about getting older is finding new ways to be festive and celebrate holidays without killing yourself, even those that do not pertain to us, like Cinco de Mayo or Bastille Day and of course Belgian Independence Day (better take the following day off work).

Cinco de Mayo occurs this coming Monday, which should water it down a bit, and might be nice. For those of you that will be celebrating on Sunday afternoon with friends & family and are looking for some cooking recipes with a Cinco de Mayo flare – The Rugged Male is your huckleberry.

We teamed up with the folks at Cholula and searched Mexico for chefs and recipes (OK, the neighborhood), to bring you a muchisimo Cinco de Mayo recipe for your celebration. Cholula hot sauce is manufactured in Jalisco Mexico. The name Cholula is derived from the oldest inhabited city in Mexico of the same name, which is 2500 years old. Cholula blends just the right amount of flavor and spice, so its not too hot and packs a wallop of taste. They are no artificial ingredients in Cholula Hot Sauce making it the perfect ingredient for cooking, as well as being your go-to hot sauce.

[OK ,queue the mariachi band]

Introducing Our …

Mexi-Cali Chopped Salad Con Asada

Romaine 1 head julienned

Arugula 1 bag rough chopped

Tomato 1/2 cup diced

Corn 2 ears grilled & cut off cob

Black Beans 1/2 cup canned & rinsed

Green onion 1 bunch chopped

Toasted Pepitas 1/4 cup

Queso Fresco 1/4 cup

Avocado 1 ea quartered and fanned

Asada 1 Asada grilled & chopped

Crispy Tortilla Strips 2 cups

Rancho-Lula Dressing 2 cups Ranch Dressing + 1 small bottle of Cholula (Arriba!)

HOW TO PREPARE:

Julienne romaine and rough chop arugula and place in large mixing bowl. Prep all other ingredients to suggested size and amounts, except avocado and queso fresco. Add romaine and arugula to the bowl. In a small mixing bowl add 2 cups ranch dressing and 1 small bottle of Cholula and mix well; set aside.

Grill asada and chop into bite size chunks as soon as it’s cool enough to touch. Add dressing to salad in the large bowl and toss until all ingredients and dressing are incorporated. Take avocado and cut into fours and make four avocado fans. Place salad on serving platter and top it with the grilled asada, queso fresco and tortilla strips. Place avocado fans around the base of the salad as garnish.

Might we suggest serving with a flight of tequilas

This recipe comes from our good friend, a fabulous chef and certainly a Rugged Male. Chris Garasic is the executive chef at the world famous Shade Hotel in Manhattan Beach, California. Stop by and say hello next time you are in Los Angeles.