Chicken Tostada Salad with Yogurt-Avocado Dressing and Pico de Gallo

Chicken Tostada Salad with Yogurt-Avocado Dressing and Pico de Gallo

I am back to working 6 days a week, purchasing airline tickets to see my family, wedding showers and weddings in the not-too-distant future. This encourages me to continue my search for easy summer time menus that require little effort. This is a quick salad that is easily put together on a week night. It makes good use of store-bought rotisserie chicken, and fresh vegetables from the garden or farmers market.


It is a refreshed version of the ubiquitous taco salad, with lean chicken and chopped vegetables piled high on a crispy tortilla. Just chop, mix, lightly fry the tortillas and assemble. I like to use uncooked tortilla shells I find at our local grocery store for all my Mexican-inspired dishes here at More Than Burnt Toast. They take 2 minutes to fry lightly in a pan.

If you are melting in the summer heat and humidity as we are and looking for a shortcut, omit frying the tortillas and serve the chicken salad over large handfuls of good-quality corn tortilla chips. Keep the stove stop turned off  in this sultry summer weather if you care to.

I have joined in once again on the monthly challenge from the Facebook group The Salad Bar. We meet once a month to create salads based on a theme that is headed by Wendy of The Weekend Gourmet . One thing I need more in my life are salads so I am more than happy to join a group that celebrates and glorifies a food group that should be on my menu daily with the overflow of fresh summer produce. This months theme is avocado and I was more than happy to join in.

**Chicken Tostada Salad with Yogurt-Avocado Dressing and Pico de Gallo**

Lime vinaigrette:

Grated zest and juice of 2 limes
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil

Salad:

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups (12 oz) fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears of corn, grilled if desired)
1 sweet green or yellow pepper, chopped finely
1/2 small red onion, chopped finely
2 cups (3/4 lb) shredded cooked chicken meat
4 canned green chilies, chopped (optional)
4 corn tortillas, each 6 inches in diameter
2 tablespoons oil for frying
1 small head romaine or iceberg lettuce, shredded
Pico de Gallo (recipe below)
Yogurt-Avocado Dressing (recipe below)

Pico de Gallo 

4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup cilantro or parsley, chopped (or more to taste!)
2 -3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
salt

Yogurt-Avocado Sauce

4 tablespoons Greek Yogurt
1 small avocado
1 small clove of garlic, peeled and rough chopped
1 pinch of salt
Juice from 1/2 a lime
About 2 – 3 tablespoons water
Freshly ground black pepper
Chili flakes to taste (optional)

To make the vinaigrette: In a bowl, whisk together the lime zest and juice, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Add the oil in a thin stream, whisking constantly until the vinaigrette is smooth.

For Pico de Gallo: Combine all ingredients; cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. This tastes best the same day that it's made, but is okay the next day.

To prepare the Avocado- Yogurt Dressing: Add all the sauce ingredients (except for salt and pepper) in a small food processor and blitz until smooth. Alternatively use a stick blender. Add more water if you prefer a more diluted consistency. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Sprinkle with some chili flakes if you care to. Set aside in the fridge until ready to use. (One trick to prevent dressing from browning is to reserve the avocado pit and put it in the dressing when refidgerated).

To make the salad: Transfer 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette to a large bowl and add the beans, corn, diced pepper, diced red onion, shredded chicken, and chiles; mix gently. Reserve the remaining vinaigrette. Let mixture stand for at least 10 minutes to blend the flavours.

Meanwhile, in a frying pan, warm 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. When it is hot, slip 3 tortillas into the oil and cook one at a time until golden and almost crispy, 1-2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer to paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining tortilla halves.

Add the lettuce to 1/2 the reserved vinaigrette and toss to coat. Place 2 fried tortilla halves on each of 4 plates and divide the lettuce among them. Spoon the chicken mixture over the lettuce, top with the pico de gallo, top with Yogurt-Avocado Sauce and serve.

Serves 4

You are reading this post on More Than Burnt Toast at http://morethanburnttoast.blogspot.com. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to the author/owner of More Than Burnt Toast. All rights reserved by Valerie Harrison.