Taco Salad + Creamy Avocado-Lime Dressing

• 1 head of romaine lettuce, washed & chopped
• 3 cups of Simple Truth Organic Mediterranean Style Medley Salad Starter or packed baby arugula
• 1 cup of cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1/4 cup of red onion (or radishes), diced
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese, optional
• 8 oz. Mexican seitan

Mexican Seitan:

• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 1/2 T tamari
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 t honey
• 1 t oregano
• 1 t paprika
• 1 t cumin
• 8 oz seitan, cut into bite size pieces

Creamy Avocado-Lime Dressing:

• 1/4 cup lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 T water
• 1/2 medium-large avocado, pitted
• 1/4 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro (some stems are okay)
• 1 small-medium jalapeño, seeded, deribbed, and roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Crispy tortilla strips:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 corn tortillas, cut into 2-inch-long, 1/4-inch-wide strips
• Fine sea salt

Directions:

Dressing:

1. In a small food processor or blender, combine the lime juice, olive oil, and water.
2. Using a spoon, scoop in the avocado and add the cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, and salt.
3. Process until the dressing is nice and smooth. The dressing should be zippy, but if it’s unpleasantly tart or difficult to blend, dilute it with 1 to 2 tablespoons of water and blend again.

Mexican Seitan:

1. Mix all of the marinade ingredients into a bowl.
2. Stir in the seitan and let sit for at least 10 minutes.
3. Cook for 4-6 minutes, until crispy, in 1/2 T of oil.

Tortilla Strips:

1. In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat until shimmering.
2. Toss in the tortilla strips, sprinkle them with salt, and stir.
3. Cook until the strips are crispy and turning golden, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Drain the tortilla strips on a plate covered with a piece of paper towel.

Taco Salad:

1. Combine the romaine and arugula in a large bowl. Wait to dress the salad until you are ready to serve, as the greens wilt fairly quickly once dressed. (If you won’t be consuming all 4 servings of this salad right away, portion off the greens you’d like to save for later, and dress only the greens you intend to eat now.)
2. When you’re ready, drizzle the mixture with just enough dressing to lightly coat the greens (you might have extra). Toss until the dressing is evenly distributed.
3. Arrange the dressed greens in 4 individual salad bowls. Top each salad with taco filling, tomatoes, onions or radishes, crispy tortilla strips, and feta.
4. Slice the remaining avocado half into long strips and place a couple of strips on each salad. Serve immediately.