Easy, eat-your-plate taco

Warm summer nights are perfect for this cool, satisfying and fun salad.

Start with edible plates made from flour tortillas. That's the fun part.

Next, choose your meat — steak (skirt, hanger, New York strip, rib-eye and sirloin all work here) or chicken breasts or thighs — or corn on the cob if you want to go meatless. Give the cuts or corn a quick rub and a little grill time. That's the satisfying part.

Mix the salad ingredients and toss them with a simple dressing — equal parts salsa, regular or verde, and reduced-fat sour cream. Now sit down and enjoy. That's the cool part.

Tasty Taco Salad

YIELD: 4 servings

4 flour tortillas, about 8 inches in diameter, pricked with a fork before baking
2½ Tbs. olive oil
Kosher salt
1 Tb. each: garlic powder, ground cumin and dried oregano
1 pound steak, your choice, or boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, or 4 shucked ears of corn, halved crosswise
2 hearts of Romaine, halved, cored and coarsely chopped (8 cups)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved and lightly salted
1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, cored and cut into short, thin strips
4 scallions, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
1 15½-ounce can of black beans, drained
4 ounces grated pepper jack cheese (about 1 cup)
½ cup each: reduced-fat sour cream and prepared salsa verde or salsa, plus extra of both, as desired, for serving

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to center position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with 1½ tablespoons of the oil and sprinkle with salt. Arrange on oven rack and bake, turning once, until crisp and golden brown, about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the flip side (deflate any air pockets that may balloon during baking); set aside.

Mix remaining oil with garlic powder, cumin and oregano; add steak, chicken or corn and rub to evenly coat, sprinkling with salt.

Meanwhile, heat gas grill with all burners on high for about 10 minutes. Use a wire brush to clean grill rack, then use tongs to wipe a vegetable-oil-soaked rag over it. Close lid and return to temperature. Alternatively, build a hot charcoal fire. Place steak, chicken or corn on the hot racks; cover and grill, turning once, until well seared and cooked to desired doneness. Let rest for about 5 minutes, then cut into thin strips when assembling salad.

Mix lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, scallions, black beans and cheese in a large bowl. Mix sour cream and salsa and add to salad; toss to coat. Heap a portion of salad onto each flour tortilla. Top with meat, chicken, or corn. Garnish if you like with a little extra sour cream and serve with additional salsa alongside.