Beef & Potato Salad with Smoky Chipotle

Beef & Potato Salad with Smoky Chipotle

In central Mexico, this salad is a standard—served as an appetizer, main dish or taco filling. Serve it with lime wedges, warm tortillas or tortilla chips. (Recipe from Fiesta at Rick’s by Rick Bayless; W.W. Norton and Company, July 2010.)

From EatingWell: March/April 2010
Yield: 6 servings, about 3/4 cup each
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

  1. 12 ounces stew beef (preferably from the chuck), cut into 1-inch cubes
  2. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  3. 1 teaspoon salt
  4. 3 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into roughly 1/2-inch pieces
  5. 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
  6. 1 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  7. 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  8. 2-3 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce (see Note)
  9. 1 ripe medium avocado, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Preparation

  1. Bring 1 quart water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add beef, garlic and salt. When the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low. Skim off the foam that rises during the first few minutes of simmering. Partially cover and simmer until the meat is fall-apart tender, about 1 hour. Remove the meat to a plate with a slotted spoon; let cool.
  2. Add potatoes to the meat broth (if there isn’t enough to cover them, add water) and simmer over medium heat until tender, 13 to 15 minutes. Scoop the potatoes into a medium bowl with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with vinegar.
  3. Coarsely shred the beef and stir it into the potatoes, along with onion, oil and chipotle to taste. Let cool to room temperature. Stir in avocado just before serving.

Tips & Notes

  1. Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate the salad for up to 2 days. Stir in the avocado just before serving.
  2. Ingredient Note: Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños packed in a spicy, flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, they’ll keep at least 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months in the freezer.

Nutrition

Nutrition Per Serving: 245 calories; 15 g fat (3 g sat, 10 g mono); 24 mg cholesterol; 15 g carbohydrates; 13 g protein; 4 g fiber; 429 mg sodium; 458 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Zinc (21% daily value)

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 1/2 lean meat, 2 fat