This southwestern salad is bursting with all kinds of tasty tidbits: crunchy bacon and tortilla strips, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese and homemade pico de gallo, all coated in an easy BBQ ranch dressing.
Directions for: Cowboy Chopped Salad
Ingredients
Bacon and Tortilla Strips12 slices bacon, chopped
Vegetable oil, for frying
4 corn tortillas, cut into strips
BBQ Ranch Dressing1 cup mayonnaise
cup sour cream
cup barbecue sauce
cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp chopped chives
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Buttermilk, as needed to adjust the consistency
Hot sauce, as needed
Kosher salt
Salad1 head iceberg lettuce, cut into chunks and sliced
1 pt grape tomatoes, halved
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1 lb(s) Cheddar, grated
Pico de gallo, store-bought or homemade, recipe follows, for topping
Pico de Gallo12 Roma tomatoes (slightly under ripe is fine)
3 yellow or red onions
2 cups fresh cilantro leaves
2 jalapenos, plus more if needed
1 lime
Salt
Directions
Bacon and Tortilla Strips1. Fry the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Add some vegetable oil to the bacon skillet and fry the tortilla strips until crisp, approximately 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
BBQ Ranch Dressing1. In a bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, barbecue sauce, parsley, chives and garlic. Adjust the consistency with buttermilk to make it a little thinner. Taste and add hot sauce and salt as needed.
Salad1. Put the lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, bacon and most of the cheese into a bowl. Drizzle over the dressing and stir. Scatter over the pico de gallo, tortilla strips and the reserved cheese, then serve.
Pico de Gallo1. Dice up equal quantities of tomatoes and onions. Roughly chop the cilantro. Now slice 1 or 2 jalapenos in half. With a spoon, scrape out the seeds. (If you like things spicy, leave in some of the white membranes.) Dice the jalapenos very finely; you want a hint of heat and jalapeno flavor, but you don't want to cause any fires. Now dump these 4 ingredients into a bowl.
2. Slice the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the bowl. Sprinkle with salt and stir together until combined. Be sure to taste the pico de gallo and adjust the seasonings, adding salt or more diced jalapeno if needed. Yield: 8 servings
See more: Salad, Cheese, Herbs, Lunch, Mexican, Pork, Tomatoes, Vegetables