Crispy Tortilla Salad With Snap Peas and Avocado
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.
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What you’ll need
Blender
$45 $32 At Amazon
Medium Skillet
$70 $50 At Amazon
Large Bowl
$23 At Amazon
Platter
$41 $25 At Amazon
Recipe information
Total Time
25 minutes
Yield
4 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Pour vegetable oil into a medium skillet to come ¼" up sides; heat over medium-high. 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.
Step 2
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.
Step 3
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. 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. Transfer salad to platter and scatter remaining half of ⅓ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems over. Season with flaky sea salt and pepper.
