Crunchy Fall Salad

As we roll into shorter days and longer, dark and cool nights, this seasonal change brings with it an appetite for warm and cozy foods. Dishes that warm you from the inside out. There’s nothing more simple or satisfying than a pot of soup. One that takes a bit of chopping and stirring and then percolates on its own for a few hours. The result a magical concoction of rich flavors that get better with time.

The consistently lower temperatures and the continuous roasting of chiles at the farmers market piqued David’s interest and requested green chile pork stew. One of the top recipes on the blog, this traditional Southwestern pork stew doesn’t take much time or effort, but tastes like it was a lengthy labor of love. Savory and piquant, the tender pork chunks mingle merrily with the roasted green chiles, chopped tomatoes, tomatillos, onions and garlic. The homemade vegetable stock shown below uses miscellaneous scraps and peelings and parts collected over time and stored in the freezer until the bag is full to make this dish even richer. A light dusting of flour when browning the pork chunks naturally thickens the gravy.

Though I do love green chile pork stew, it’s hardly a well-balanced meal and calls for a simple side to lighten things up a bit.

Hearty Stews Need a Salad

The mission was a hearty and flavorful salad that plays well with the pork stew. I searched the veggie drawers and found a few odds and ends that would celebrate the New and Old Mexican influences of this dish we love. Using some leftover corn and my go-to Chardonnay Dijon vinaigrette along with a few other ingredients, I tossed a salad together that was so good, crunchy and crisp, we agreed it deserved to be reproduced and served with leftover green chile pork stew.

Considering it’s been a while since I have made something that we both stop and gawk over and both ask for a repeat, may this colorful, crispy and flavorful salad be the one you lean on the next time stew is on the menu.

Buen provecho!

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Crunchy Fall Salad

Plucking the best of fall and a few extra ingredients that give it a Mexican feel, this salad is solid and could easily stand-alone topped with a grilled chicken breast or grilled shrimp. But if you want to knock it out of the park, serve this colorful, crunchy fall salad with your favorite stew or green chile pork stew.

Course Salad

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword cotija cheese, cucumber, lettuce, radish

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 4

Author The Cowgirl Gourmet in Santa Fe

Ingredients

• 1/3 cucumber peeled, quartered and in chunks
• 3 radishes thinly sliced
• 3/4 cup corn sauteed or roasted
• 3 thin slices of red onion
• 2 cups mixed greens
• 3 tablespoons Chardonnay Dijon vinaigrette plus one more tablespoon, if needed
• 1/4 cup cotija cheese
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a salad bowl, add the diced cucumbers, sliced radishes, sauteed or roasted corn and thinly sliced red onion. Dust with a dash of salt and pepper and toss to combine.

2. Add the mixed greens and Chardonnay Dijon vinaigrette to the bowl. Toss to combine. Taste and add another tablespoon, if needed.

3. Sprinkle with the cotija cheese and pumpkin seeds.

4. Add another dose of salt and pepper and serve.