Recipe

Mexican Picnic Salad with Lime Vinaigrette

Ingredients
5 pint-sized wide-mouth glass canning jars with lids
3 tbsp. Kowalski's Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
6 tbsp. Kowalski's Extra Virgin Olive Oil, plus more for grilling pineapple
1 tsp. sugar
½ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. freshly ground Kowalski's Black Peppercorns
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp. finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro
½ pineapple, peeled, cored and cut crosswise into 4 (½") slices
2 cups finely shredded Romaine lettuce
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
¼ cup chopped jicama, in matchstick-shaped pieces
¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
½ pt. grape tomatoes, halved
½ cup crumbled Cotija cheese (optional)
Directions
  1. Preheat a grill to medium heat.
  2. In 1 jar, combine lime juice, oil, sugar, salt and pepper; screw lid on tightly and shake vigorously to blend. Set dressing aside.
  3. In a small mixing bowl, combine jalapeño, bell pepper and cilantro; set pepper mixture aside.
  4. Brush pineapple with oil; grill pineapple on the preheated grill over direct heat until pineapple is soft but not falling apart (about 10 min.), turning once.
  5. Chop pineapple; set aside.
  6. In each of the remaining 4 glass canning jars, layer an equal amount of lettuce, corn, beans, jicama, grilled pineapple, red onion, tomatoes, cheese and pepper mixture.
  7. Shake dressing thoroughly to combine. Drizzle about 2 tbsp. dressing on top of each salad; screw lids on tightly and shake to toss.
  8. Pour salad onto a plate or eat from the jar.

 

Tasty Tips:

  • Salad jars are easy to tote to a picnic. Simply assemble the salads in the jars, screw on the lids and add them to your cooler with the jar of dressing. When you're ready to eat, dress the salad and eat from the jar. No trash to throw away!
  • When in season, use fresh sweet corn in this recipe rather than frozen.

Find It!

  • Find Kowalski's Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice in the Produce Department.
  • Find Cotija cheese in the Specialty Cheese Department.