Beef Taco Salad with Warm Tortilla Crisps
Salsa-browned beef mince over crisp lettuce with melted cheddar, cool sour cream and toasted tortilla wedges. A warm, savory taco salad that comes together in one skillet.
- Total
- 16 min
- Prep 6 · Cook 10
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Toasting spices · Searing
- Savory
- Quick
- Mexican
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Cut the tortilla into 8 wedges. Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces and put them in a bowl. Grate the cheddar.
~3 min
-
Heat 1 tsp oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Lay in the tortilla wedges in a single layer and toast until golden and crisp, about 1 minute per side, then lift them onto the serving plate.
~2 min
Toasting in a single layer with a little oil drives off moisture so the wedges crisp instead of steaming.
Toasting the tortilla wedges in the same skillet before the beef gives them a nutty, crisp edge that stays crunchy under the warm topping.
Toasting spices Toast in a single layer over medium-high heat, turning once, until golden and fragrant; crowding or low heat steams them soft instead of crisp.
-
Add the beef mince to the hot skillet and break it into small pieces with the spatula. Season with 0.25 tsp salt and 0.25 tsp black pepper and cook until no pink remains and the meat is browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
~5 min
Letting the beef sit undisturbed first builds a browned crust through the Maillard reaction, deepening flavor.
Let the beef sit undisturbed for the first minute in the pan so it browns instead of steaming, then break it up.
Searing Leave the beef undisturbed for the first minute to build a brown crust, then break it up; stirring constantly steams the meat gray.
-
Pour 80 g salsa into the skillet and stir to coat the beef. Simmer until the salsa thickens and clings to the meat, about 2 minutes.
~2 min
Simmering reduces the salsa's water so it thickens and clings to the meat instead of pooling.
-
Scatter the grated cheddar over the beef, cover the skillet and cook until the cheese melts, about 1 minute.
~1 min
Covering traps steam, which melts the cheddar evenly without drying out the beef.
-
Pile the warm beef and melted cheddar over the lettuce, add the tortilla crisps, spoon over 2 tbsp sour cream and serve straight away.
~2 min