This dairy free taco salad is so flavoursome and a perfect example that you don’t need the cheese and sour cream. The Catalina dressing is beyond tasty, making the whole recipe completely delicious!
Add 1 tsp of olive oil to a large fry pan. Pan fry beef mince until it has cooked through, and then add 1 packet of taco seasoning. Fry until brown and well cooked.
Rest a colander over the prep bowl. Ensure that there is space between the bottom of the colander and the prep bowl. Put the cooked beef mince in the colander and allow the juices to drain.
Add 3 cups of vegetable oil to a saucepan or use your deep fryer.
Cut the corn in half lengthwise, standing up. Then cut it lengthwise into quarters. When the oil is hot, add the corn ribs and deep fry for about 3-5 minutes or until the kernels are nicely browned. Remove, place on paper towels to drain excess oil.
Remove the whole leaves of the romaine (cos) lettuce. Wash and set aside to dry.
Drain canned black beans and measure out ½ cup.
Dice ½ an avocado.
Cut apple cucumber into small cubes without the seeds.
Thinly slice ¼ of a salad onion.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
Slice the green chillies.
Roughly tera up parsley leaves.
Salad Dressing
Place all the ingredients in a food processor or hand blender and blitz thoroughly.
Assembly
In a large mixing bowl, add the beef mince, black beans, avocado, apple cucumber, salad onion, cherry tomatoes, green chilli, parsley and ¾ of the salad dressing. Toss until well combined.
On a large platter, scatter the lettuce leaves. Then drizzle the Catalina dressing on top.
Add the salad on top of the lettuce leaves.
Place the corn ribs on top of the salad.
Place the rest of the dressing in a small bowl to serve on the side.
Put some blue corn chips in a bowl to serve on the side.
Serve.
Video
Notes
You can use any taco seasoning of your choice for this recipe. You can even make your own if you prefer.
Be very careful when you cut the corn lengthwise. It is quite a precarious task. Use a kitchen mallet to help push the knife down. If you are not comfortable with this process, just use canned corn and forego the corn ribs.
It may pay to get an extra corn in case the cutting doesn't work out.
If you have an air fryer, you can also make your corn ribs in them. Place them flat on the tray and do not overlap. Coat with oil and air fry for about 10-12 minutes and flipping it halfway to get an even fry.
If you can’t find salad onion, you can use white onion or shallots.
Apple cucumbers are not always in season, so please use any cucumber of your choice.