New Recipe #24: Guacamole salad

I printed out the recipe for guacamole salad after seeing Ina Garten prepare it for the episode of Barefoot Contessa one where she makes lunch for her grillin’ girlfriends in some scenic locale. The idea of a chunky, avocado-based salad was appealing, and it worked for this week’s Whip It Up theme of fresh produce. JG and I hunted around for something to accompany it, and he pulled out a recipe from the binder for Ina’s tequila lime chicken. A dinner of new Ina Garten recipes! I could hardly wait.

Method
I got home from work rather late yesterday, so JG was eager to fire up the grill and cook the chicken that had been marinating all day. Even with a simple process, the salad took me longer than it should have, partially owing to a stubborn avocado pit that refused to loose itself from its home. I made the following tweaks to the straight-forward recipe:

• I did not use a whole pint of tomatoes, since JG doesn’t like them that much.
• I omitted the jalapeños for my own safety.
• I added a slosh of vinegar to the dressing because it seemed too oily to me, but then I realized that it was a 1:1 ratio of acid to oil, so I figured that Ina meant it to be that way, since acid helps to prevent the avocados from browning.

Taste
With the caveat that the avocados I picked up were not as ripe as they should have been, the salad’s taste was only so-so. I liked the lime vinaigrette, but I thought the proportion of black beans was too heavy, and I have a special affection for that little legume. JG and I agreed that we preferred our typical black bean salad over this one, and that was disappointing.

Repeat appearance
It pains me to say it, but the recipe printout for the guacamole salad did not graduate to its own plastic sleeve. We would just rather have regular guacamole that we can smash to a pulp. This salad is comparatively fussy and without that much payoff. As if to add insult to injury, the chicken was middling, too. The flavor may have been affected by JG’s use of margarita mix instead of straight tequila, but the dish was not anything special for us. That said, I think these are good recipes to try, especially with ripe avocados, but they didn’t make a mark with us to warrant immortalizing in the binder. Alas, Ina, I knew you well.

Guacamole Salad
Barefoot Contessa

• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and 1/2-inch diced
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup small diced red onion
• 2 tablespoons minced jalapeño peppers, seeded (2 peppers)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and 1/2-inch diced

Place the tomatoes, yellow pepper, black beans, red onion, jalapeño peppers, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and pour over the vegetables. Toss well.

Just before you’re ready to serve the salad, fold the avocados into the salad. Check the seasoning and serve at room temperature.

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Tequila Lime Chicken
Barefoot Contessa

• 1/2 cup gold tequila
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (5 to 6 limes)
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh jalapeno pepper (1 pepper seeded)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 whole (6 split) boneless chicken breasts, skin on

Combine the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, chili powder, jalapeno pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add the chicken breasts. Refrigerate overnight.

Heat a grill with coals and brush the rack with oil to prevent the chicken from sticking. Remove the chicken breasts from the marinade, sprinkle well with salt and pepper, and grill them skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn the chicken and cook for another 10 minutes, until just cooked through. Remove from the grill to a plate. Cover tightly and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.