Trifled Layered Mexican Salad

Individual layered salads are created and dramatically topped with a flourish of fried tortilla strips.

Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 13 min

Yield: 4 Servings

Corn Salad
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup canned black beans, drained
1 teaspoons chopped cilantro

Tortilla Strips
1 quart canola oil
2 6-inch corn tortillas
1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne
1⁄8 teaspoon salt

Salad
2 heads of romaine lettuce, torn into small pieces
3/4 cup salsa
1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup ranch dressing

Milk, Soy

Nutritional Information

Vegetarian

For the corn salad: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place the corn on a baking sheet. Roast the corn for 10 minutes or until slightly charred. Cool the corn completely.
Toss the corn with the drained black beans and cilantro. Reserve under refrigeration until needed.
For the tortilla strips: Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepot over medium-high heat until the temperature registers 350°F on a candy thermometer. Deep fry the tortilla strips until crisp, about 3 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Toss with the salt and cayenne. Reserve until needed.
For the salad: Combine the lettuce with the salsa. Mound some of the lettuce a plate or in a short glass or small pudding dish. Layer a quarter of the corn and bean mix on top of lettuce. Layer some of shredded cheddar cheese on top of bean and corn mix. Drizzle each salad with some ranch dressing. Stack a quarter of the tortilla strips on top of each salad.