By Kevin Williams
I have written in pasts posts about the surprising influence of Tex-Mex and Latina culture on Amish cooking.
In some ways, though, this influence shouldn't be surprising. After all, there is a large Mennonite community in Mexico and the Amish and Mennonites to interact quite a bit. So as new recipes and cooking styles are tried in the Mexican Mennonite settlements they get shared through the "Amish grapevine."
In today's "Wednesday grab bag" (where, in my office, I literally stick my hand in a bin of unsorted, uncategorized recipes from Amish and Mennonite cooks and share the first one I grab) is a recipe for "Taco Salad." I was kind of bummed when I pulled this one out because it seems pretty ordinary at first glance ,But after giving it a real once-over it looks like it could be quite tasty. I assuming when the recipe calls for "Taco Chips" that just means some sort of tortilla chip.
Arlene Kopp's homemade Taco Salad, the recipe hand-written for us by her.
This recipe actually comes to us from a Mennonite settlement. Arlene Kopp of Rich Hill, Missouri shares this recipe with us. Enjoy!
TACO SALAD
1 pound ground beef
1 -2 heads of iceberg lettuce, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 pint kidney beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
½ cup chopped celery
1 /2 cup chopped green peppers
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese
Taco chips
DRESSING:
1 /2 cup vegetable oil
1 /4 cup vinegar
1 /2 cup catsup
1 /2 cup sugar
1 /2 teaspoon seasoned salt
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well-blended. Pour dressing over all just before serving. Serves 12.
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