Description
My sweet potato and ground beef taco salad is an adult version of those taco salads you would eat out of Fritos bags as a kid. It’s one of my favorite things to make when I’m craving hispanic flavors, and I share my hack on how to make a flavor packed salsa vinaigrette with just a few ingredients.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 10 ounces of arugula
- 1/2 head red cabbage
- 2 cups Quinoa rice (recipe below)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 large sweet potato, or 2 small
- 1.5 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 cup of pickled red onions (recipe below, or can use store bought)
- 1/2 cup shredded mexican style cheese
- 15 tortilla chips (or fritos chips)
For the cilantro lime quinoa rice:
- 1/3 cup quinoa
- 2/3 cup white rice
- Pinch of salt
- 1.5 cups water
- Zest and juice of 1/2 lime
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
For the Salsa vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For the pickled red onion – you can also purchase pickled red onions to make this recipe simpler
- 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons salt
Instructions
For the Pickled Red Onions:
- Slice the red onion into thin strips, less than ¼” thick. Add this to a heat proof bowl or jar.
- In a small pot, add the white wine vinegar, water, sugar, and salt. Bring this to a simmer, then remove from the heat and pour over the sliced onions.
- Add a few ice cubes and let this sit for 30 minutes.
For the Sweet Potato Bowl:
- Make the grains. Add the rice, quinoa, and salt to a small 2 qt pot. Toast for 30 seconds, then add the 1.5 cups of water (I don’t rinse my rice in this case – the toasting will help with the starch). Bring up to boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes on low heat. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Once finished, gently fold in the chopped cilantro, lime zest, and lime juice.
- Prep all the vegetables and garnishes. Chop the sweet potato to a½” dice, thinly slice the red cabbage, and finely chop the cilantro. If you plan on making the pickled red onions, slice these as well.
- Heat a medium sized pan on medium high heat. Add the ground beef and mince well. Season with the kosher salt, cumin, coriander, and paprika, then add the sweet potato and black pepper. Stir occasionally and let this cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft.
- Make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl or glass jar. You could also food process this for a more emulsified sauce. Whisk or blend everything for about 30 seconds, taste and adjust for seasoning as desired, and set aside.
- Assemble the bowl by adding a bed of arugula to a bowl. Top with the red cabbage, quinoa rice, shredded cheese, sweet potato and ground beef mixture, tortilla chips and pickled red onions. Add a few spoonfuls of the salsa vinaigrette, and serve!
Notes
Tip 1 – Brown the ground meat and mince it up for a couple minutes to get less chunky pieces, then add the diced sweet potato. At this point, some of the fat will render and help the sweet potato cook. Let this mixture cook on medium heat (either covered, or uncovered) for ~10 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft. Stir occasionally and add a splash of water if it begins to burn.
Tip 2 – Start your prep by cooking the quinoa rice. It takes 30 minutes to cook, and you should be able to finish your other ingredient prep within this time.
Tip 3 – Use storebought salsa for a simple and delicious dressing. If you really want another shortcut, you could just spoon salsa, olive oil, and lime juice over your salad, but mixing it together more evenly distributes the flavor.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American