Tortilla and avocado Tex Mex salad

In this tech-driven, crazy-busy era, I feel that the mantra: 'the simple things in life are often the best' is particularly appropriate and a relatively good one to bear in mind daily as we rush from one agenda item to another.

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I feel it can be said for recipes, too, some of which seem overly complicated. My favourites are definitely those that are simple, fresh and tasty.

The salad I'm sharing here is my adaptation of a recipe from Ross Dobson's Food + Beer  - a cracker of a cookbook that I reviewed last Spring. It takes no time to prepare, and is a great accompaniment to my chilli con carne. Dobson says he likes serving a pale lager with this dish, which was thrown together for a friend's barbecue. 

Some minor amendments on my part include holding the thinly sliced raw Spanish onion...  although do add it if you enjoy raw onions in a salad. I would suggest salting the sliced onion first, to draw out the sweetness, then rinse and pat dry with kitchen towel. I also left out the handful of Spanish olives - mostly because of the high salt content. Once again, by all means add them if you wish. I also added a couple of sliced baby Cukes, for a little crunch.

Make this salad just before you are ready to serve it, otherwise it may end up soggy. Incidentally, if you cannot find white tortillas, use a soft flatbread instead.

TORTILLA AND AVOCADO TEX MEX SALAD
250g white corn tortillas, cut into super thin strips
handful of baby cos lettuce leaves or iceberg, shredded
12 ripe teardrop tomatoes, cut in half
1 firm ripe avocado, flesh cut into wedges
1 tablespoon coriander sprigs
50g crumbled feta
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese
ground black pepper, to season
lime wedges, to serve

Combine the tortilla or flatbread strips in a serving bowl with the shredded lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and coriander. Toss gently, then sprinkle with the Parmesan and feta, and season to taste with a dash of freshly ground black pepper. Serves 4. 

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Over to you dear readers and fellow cooks. Do you agree that the simple things in life? And did you know that the saying stems from a 1980s television commercial for Corn Flakes?