Taco Ring, Rice & Beans and Salad with Cilantro Ranch Dressing

Girl saw this recipe recently in one of my really old cookbooks and asked me to make it. I, of course, adapted it quite a bit:
– I used 1 pound of ground beef, instead of 1/2
– I used Monterey Jack, instead of cheddar (because that’s what I had on hand – I used a little more than 1 cup, since I had more meat)
– I used my own taco seasoning mix, instead of the pre-packaged stuff
– I added a little bit of sauteed garlic and onion to the meat/cheese mixture, too.
– I didn’t do the whole tomato/olive/lettuce/bell pepper cup thing in the middle of the ring, but just served a salad and rice and beans on the side

Taco Ring, ready to go in the oven

Taco Ring, just out of the oven

For the rice and beans, I sauteed a little bit of garlic (3 to 4 cloves) and onion (1/2 an onion?) in some oil until it was soft. I added a bit of this to the meat/cheese mixture for the taco ring, mixed some into a can of fat-free refried beans and stirred some into the rice as it was cooking. To the beans, I also added a tiny bit of cheese, a heavy sprinkle of cumin, a tiny bit of chili powder and a good sprinkle of oregano. For the rice, I used long-grain brown rice, with chicken stock (with 1 to 2 Tbsp of tomato paste mixed in) as the cooking liquid. When it was about halfway cooked, I added some frozen peas and chopped fresh carrots (add a little extra cooking liquid at that point, too). I also added a bit of cumin and some turmeric (for color).

For the salad, you can just use whatever greens and veggies you’d like (we used romaine with purple onions, radishes and grape tomatoes), but the salad dressing recipe follows below.

NB: Cilantro gets very “gamey” and pungently-flavored in the summer. Although cilantro is delicious with lots of summer produce (corn, tomatoes, etc.), it is actually a winter herb and starts to go to seed (coriander is the seed of the same plant) in the summer. When you buy it in the summer, you may notice that it looks a little different and has small clusters of thin, feathery leaves at the ends, rather than the large, parsley-like leaves that you’re used to (see bottom right quadrant of the photo below). The flavor changes at this point, as well. When using summer cilantro, you may need to use less, since the flavor is so strong. If you’re making this dressing in the winter, you can use a heavier hand when adding the cilantro.

Cilantro Ranch Salad Dressing

1/2 cup sour cream (low-fat version OK)
1 cup mayonnaise (low-fat version OK)
1 tsp dried dill weed (or a little less, if you’re using freshly chopped dill)
1 tsp onion powder
about 1/4 cup buttermilk (low-fat version OK)
finely chopped fresh cilantro to taste
(depending upon the flavor, use anywhere from 1 Tbsp. to about 1/4 cup)
1 garlic clove
about 1 tsp. kosher salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste (1/8 tsp?)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh chives (optional, but delicious)

Run the garlic through a garlic press or chop it finely on a cutting board. Sprinkle the salt over the garlic clove and press the garlic/salt mixture with the flat side of a knife to crush the garlic (the salt will act as an abrasive and will help crush it up). Scoop/scrape up the garlic/salt mixture and place it in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Whisk in the mayonnaise and sour cream until the mixture is smooth. Whisk in the buttermilk, a little bit at a time, until you reach the desired dressing consistency (you may not use the entire 1/4 cup, or you may need a little more).

Optional: Use an immersion blender to remove any lumps at this point (do NOT use it once you’ve added the herbs).

Stir in the dill, onion powder, black pepper and cilantro and chives.

Makes about 2 cups.

Adaptation: to make regular ranch dressing, substitute finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, to taste, in place of the cilantro.