Just like MISE Footwear's upcoming kitchen shoe (eek, can’t wait!), this fajita salad comes together with simple, yet standout components. I’ll be cooking this easy dish all summer long, especially on the days I want to convince myself that I’ve eaten “salad” for dinner, plus the others when I’m too sun-dazed to wrap my head around wrapping a burrito.
Ingredients
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1 head romaine lettuce, washed & dried
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1 ½ lb. strip or Denver steak
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2 tsp. salt
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Pinch of flake salt
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Black pepper
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2 tsp. chili powder
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2 tsp. cumin
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1 red bell pepper, sliced into spears
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2 tsp. olive oil
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1 small handful of your favorite tortilla chips
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2 ripe avocados
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1 cup crema (or sour cream)
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1 bunch cilantro, picked from stem (plus more for salsa & garnish)
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Juice from 4 freshly squeezed limes
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2 tsp. vegetable oil
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2 ears sweet corn on the cob, removed from husk
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2 ripe roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
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¼ cup pickled red onions, roughly chopped (plus more to garnish)
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2 tsp. white sugar
Mise En Place
Salad
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1 head romaine lettuce, washed & dried
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1 ½ lb. strip or Denver steak
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Salt & pepper to taste
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2 tsp. chili powder
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2 tsp. cumin
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1 red bell pepper, sliced into spears
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2 tsp. olive oil
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1 small handful of your favorite tortilla chips
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Pinch of flake salt
Before you start building your fajita toppings, let your steak come to room temperature on a cutting board and season with salt, pepper, chili powder and cumin.
Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet, heat olive oil to medium-high heat and stir fry bell pepper slices until slightly blackened around the edges, sprinkle a pinch of salt over the top of the cooked peppers and set aside to cool.
Avocado crema
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2 ripe avocados
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1 cup crema (or sour cream)
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1 bunch cilantro, picked from stem (plus more to garnish)
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Juice from 4 freshly squeezed limes
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2 tsp. salt
Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender and process until completely smooth. The mixture will resemble the consistency of mayonnaise.
Corn salsa
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2 tsp. vegetable oil
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2 ears sweet corn on the cob, removed from husk
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2 ripe roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
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Remaining cilantro, roughly chopped
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¼ cup pickled red onions, roughly chopped (plus more to garnish)
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2 tsp. white sugar
In a saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat and toss in corn kernels. Cook for about 5 minutes while stirring constantly until the corn darkens a couple shades in color. Transfer corn to a large bowl and mix in remaining ingredients. Set aside and cool.
By now, your steak should have come to room temperature. In a cast iron skillet, heat your remaining 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-high heat and cook your steak on one side for 3 minutes before turning and repeating on the opposite side. Remove from the skillet and allow it to rest while you build your salad.
Assembly
In a large bowl, mindfully fan out your romaine leaves so they resemble a lettuce basket. Gently place tortilla chips, bell peppers and corn salsa in their own sections of the center of the salad. Slice the steak into thick strips and position the fillet in the center of the salad as the focal point. Drizzle a generous amount of avocado crema before garnishing with pickled red onions, cilantro and flake salt. Last up? Stop reading, start eating.
