Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates Mexican heritage and pride for those in the United States, and a day of victory over the French forces in the Battle of Puebla in the Mexican state of Puebla. In honor of the day, our household had Mexican themed food. I made tostadas using some of the leftover filling from my Enchiladas con Calabaza recipe and served a delicious, mildly spicy salad made with asparagus. The salad is a recipe that I got from a Wisconsin Cheese web site. To get the recipe, please visit this link.

Tostado Con Carne (with Meat)

To make the tostado, you need for each one:

1 or 2 Flax Corn Tortillas or 1 one low carb Flour Tortilla
2 or 3 tablespoons of the Filling
1/4 cup chopped or shredded Lettuce
1 tablespoon chopped Tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon chopped Olives
shredded Cheddar Jack Cheese
1 tablespoon Guacamole (optional)
1 tablespoon Sour Cream (optional)

Heat enough oil in a skillet to cover the pan with a 1/4 inch layer. When the oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium high and slide in a tortilla. Cook a couple of minutes, then use a pancake turner or heat resistant spatula to flip the tortilla over and cook a couple of minutes on that side. It should get lightly browned. I usually flip them a couple of times. Remove to a paper towel on a plate to drain any excess oil. Repeat for as many tostadas as you plan to make.

Heat the filling and spoon two to three tablespoons onto the tostado base. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, olives and jack cheese. Finish off with a tablespoon of guacamole and a tablespoon of sour cream if you wish.

The calories and carbs for this are dependent on which tortilla you use and what you top it with, but it should be about what the enchilada count is.

Calories: 155.7 Fat: 8 g Net Carbs: 8.25 g Protein: 10.7g

Mexican Style Asparagus Salad

This is a recipe too good not to pass on, which is why I’ve included the link to web site above. I made it pretty much as written except for a couple of slight changes. I added three tablespoons of chopped olives to it, which are mixed in when the tomato is added. I only used half a serrano pepper because I thought it might be too spicy. It could have probably used a whole one. I could not find queso blanco at my local grocery store so I used Greek feta cheese and it worked fine. However, it is probably a little saltier than the Mexican cheese. Next time, I am going to make my own queso blanco and I’ll let you know how that goes.

The other slight change is that I didn’t remove the crushed garlic from the dressing, but let it sit in the mix and continue to add flavor. But then I love garlic. If you prefer the milder taste, let it sit for maybe 30 minutes and then remove it.

So my variation on it:

1 pound fresh Asparagus, trimmed and cut diagonally in 1 inch pieces
1/3 cup Cilantro leaves, chopped finely
1/3 cup diced Onion
3 tablespoons chopped Olives
1/2 Serrano Chile, chopped

Vinaigrette:
1 clove Garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano leaves
2 tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh Lime Juice

Assembly:
1 medium Tomato, seeded and chopped
1 cup (about 4 ounces) crumbled Queso Blanco Cheese

For the asparagus salad:
Bring 2 1/2 cups water to boil and add a dash of salt, then add the asparagus. Let water return to a boil and cook for a minute and tests the asparagus with a fork. It should be slightly tender, but still crisp. If it isn’t, cook another minute and test again. You don’t want the asparagus to be overcooked. Rinse with cold water and drain. Place the asparagus in bowl, and add the cilantro, onion, olives and chile and mix together.

For the vinaigrette:
Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients into a jar with a lid and shake well to mix. Let it sit for about 30 minutes, then shake again and remove the garlic, if you wish.

Toss the asparagus mixture with the vinaigrette, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Just before serving, add the tomato and Queso Blanco Cheese, then stir it together.

While this is made with asparagus, which is now in season and is reasonably priced, I think it would work equally as well with broccoli or cauliflower or a mix of the two. It might work with Brussels sprouts as well, but I would cut them in half and steam them until tender. And don’t overlook zuchinni as a possible substitute. The flavors would be excellent.

Nutrition Info for the asparagus salad (1/4th recipe):
Calories: 199 Fat: 4.7 g Net Carbs: 6.4 g Protein: 3.9 g

Posted on 5/6/2013