Over the weekend, Blake and I made a day trip to Austin. The city of rolling hills and a foodie’s heaven. For those two reasons alone, I love spending time there. Our day wouldn’t have been complete without a much overdue trip to Torchy’s Tacos for lunch.
Have y’all been to Torchy’s? They’ve expanded outside of Austin, to cities all over Texas, as well as Colorado and Oklahoma. So, if you have a lucky day and stumble across Torchy’s, stop and enjoy the best taco of your life.
And, yes, I when I lived in Austin, I enjoyed tacos pretty darn often. Reminder: food should be enjoyed (in moderation), and not feared. Sometimes, actually most of the time, I would just eat the inside of my tacos. Because, well, I’m not a huge fan of tortillas, and the insides are the best part. Just in case you need an order recommendation, my top taco picks are Chicken Fajita and Brushfire. Mmmmm.
BUT, more importantly that their ever-so-delicious tacos, they now have a salad on their menu! This past weekend was the first time I noticed this new item (I might be way behind the times since I haven’t eaten there in awhile). Being the salad lover that I am, I had to give it a try.
Verdict: I was thoroughly impressed. It was one of the best salads I’ve had. I know, that statement holds a lot of weight coming from me.
I immediately knew that I wanted to recreate the salad to enjoy at home and, of course, share with all of you. Within 5 days, I recreated and photographed the recipe, which is a darn speedy pace for me. Filled with salsa, roasted corn and pepper, fajita chicken, pumpkin seeds, and avocado, this salad makes for a filling lunch or dinner.
And, you know a salad is good when the dressing becomes optional. This one is packed with flavor, so I didn’t even use the dressing. Instead, I just squeezed a little extra lime juice on top.
- 8-10 oz chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
- 1/2 tbs ghee
- 2 cups spinach, divided
- 1 cup arugula, divided
- 1 ear of yellow corn, husk removed and washed
- 1/2 poblano pepper, washed and seeds removed
- 1 red bell pepper, washed and seeds removed
- 1/2 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 cup diced white onion
- Juice from 1/2 of a lime
- 2 tbs cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- Juice from 1/2 of a lime
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs lime juice
- 1 tbs honey
- In a medium bowl, combine all seasoning ingredients. Cut chicken breasts into 1" cubes and toss in seasoning mix. Coat evenly and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Separately wrap the poblano pepper, red bell pepper, and ear of corn in tinfoil. Bake for 30minutes, rotating half way through.
- Meanwhile, prepare salsa by finely chopping all ingredients and combining in a small bowl. Prepare the dressing by mixing all the ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat and melt ghee. Add chicken to the skillet. Saute for 6-7 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Once the poblano pepper, bell pepper, and corn are done roasting, carefully remove from tinfoil and transfer to a cutting board. Once cooled, dice the poblano and bell pepper. Cut the corn off the cob. In a medium bowl, mix togehter.
- To prepare the salad, place half the spinach and arugula in a serving bowl. Add the corn and pepper mixture, then chicken. Top with salsa, pumpkin seeds, and avocado. Drizzle half the dressing on top*.
- *Feel free to skip the dressing and just squeeze fresh lime juice on top.
