Absolutely Nothing Spanish About It: Spanish Salad

 I'm going to go out on a limb and say that nothing about bottled Catalina dressing, canned ranch beans, and Fritos exactly screams "Spanish" does it?  I have no idea why it's called Spanish Salad it's just what was typed on the recipe card and we went with it.  I don't even know where the recipe came from but it was a family dinner staple growing up, especially in the dead of summer.  This is why it's also the first feature in my Summer Cold Food Series.

The Summer Cold Food Series

Summers in Phoenix are hot.  Actually, hot is an understatement.  Imagine feeling like you're living in a convection oven if you can...just try.  Since we already live in an oven, we try our damnedest not to add additional ovens to the mix.  If you turn on your oven in the summer you'll be paying the price for HOURS...it's just not worth it.   So the more cold meals you can fit into a week the better.  The Summer Food Series will feature a cold meal each week to help you stay cool and keep it interesting.

Now Back to Spanish Salad....

When I do a little Google searching...go figure, nobody calls it Spanish Salad. Most just call it Frito Salad, but there are a few key differences.  A lot of them contain ground beef.  Skipping the beef not only makes it fast, easy, and no heat, but also makes it vegetarian which is perfect for me as I am trying to incorporate a few meatless meals a week.  Several also contain kidney beans (hard pass) or just plain pinto beans and then use Catalina dressing at the end.  

What sets ours apart from the rest was that we marinate a a can of Ranch beans with a small bottle of Catalina dressing.  I like to do it the night before or in the morning to have for later for dinner.  Catalina dressing on it's own is incredibly sweet, almost sickeningly so.  I don't love it on it's own, but paired with the savory, kind of smoky sauce of the Ranch beans it makes for an incredible flavor profile.

As a kid the ingredients were kept simple and cheap. Of course the bean and dressing mixture, iceberg salad mix (the one with the dried out purple cabbage pieces), shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, and Fritos.  That's it.

I will gladly eat it as is, but now that I am a mature, classy, woman in her 30s, (don't laugh) I can't help but jazz it up a little.  Elevation they call it.  Throw in some green or red onion, chopped cilantro, and some sliced olives and you have yourself a bowl of tasty....and it added ZERO heat to your house.

Have you ever had a salad like this before?

Spanish Salad

26oz can Ranch Beans

8oz bottle Catalina Dressing

Chopped romaine

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sliced olives

Chopped cilantro

Red or green onion

Fritos chips

Combine the beans (don't drain!) with the dressing and mix well.  Allow to marinate at least a few hours, overnight is even better.  Build your salad to your taste using the ingredients listed.  Use the bean mixture as your dressing.