Crispy Tortilla Salad With Snap Peas and Avocado

Total Time: 25 mins

Serves: 4

A twist on fattoush, the classic Levantine salad that stars pita chips, this version uses crispy fried tortilla strips dusted in chile powder instead. In place of tomatoes, you’ll find crunchy snap peas. The dressing gets a riff as well, made creamy with avocado and bright from lime juice and a pinch of ground cumin. Freshly fried tortilla strips are thicker and cornier (in a good way!) than store- bought tortilla chips, bringing heft and deeper flavor to the salad, but you can use bagged for an even quicker sprint to the dinner finish line if you so desire.

This recipe contains tons of green! TCM nutrition theory categorizes food by color and taste. The five colors of food nourish the five different organs in our body.

Green foods help clear liver heat because its cooling in nature. The liver is an "emotional" organ in which anger, frustration, and stress may cause excess heat. Green foods are more cooling and contain sulforaphane, an anti-cancer compound and vitamin.

The Liver is the organ that governs the spring. Towards the end of spring we need to pay extra attention to liver heat from our environment beginning to heat up as summer nears! This recipe has such a nice balance of cooling liver soothing ingredients and lots of flavor and crunch. ENJOY!

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• INGREDIENTS

• 2 Avocados, ripe

• 1/3 cup Cilantro leaves with, stems tender

• 1 bunch of fresh mint

• 1 Cucumber (about 12 oz.), large

• 1 Garlic clove

• 1 Jalapeno

• 1 bunch Radishes, wedges thin

• 10 oz Sugar snap peas

• 1/3 cup Lime juice, fresh

• Ground black pepper to taste

• 1 tsp Red chile powder

• 1/2 tsp Cumin, ground

• 1 tsp Diamond crystal or ½ tsp. morton kosher salt, plus more

• Flaky sea salt for topping

• 3 tbsp Olive oil, extra-virgin

• Avocado oil for frying

• 6 Corn tortillas, halved, cut into 1/2"-thick strips

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour avocado oil into a medium skillet to come ¼" up sides; heat over medium-high.

2. Working in 2 batches, fry 6 corn tortillas, halved, cut into ½"-thick strips, stirring often, until golden and crisp, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels, then transfer to a large bowl and toss with 1 tsp. red chile powder and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt.

3. Purée 1 garlic clove, finely grated, ⅓ cup fresh lime juice (3–4 limes), 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, ½ tsp. ground cumin, 1 ripe avocado, and 1 Tbsp. water in a blender or mini-processor until smooth; season generously with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

4. Spread half of dressing on a platter. Add 1 bunch radishes, trimmed, cut into thin wedges, 1 large cucumber (about 12 oz.), coarsely chopped, 1 jalapeño, thinly sliced, and 10 oz. sugar snap peas, strings removed, halved on a diagonal, to remaining dressing in bowl; toss to coat.

5. Thinly slice remaining 1 ripe avocado; add to bowl along with tortillas and half of ⅓ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems; toss gently to combine.

6. Transfer salad to platter and scatter mint leaves and remaining half of ⅓ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems over. Season with flaky sea salt and pepper.

   photo and recipe credits to Bon Appetit