Like your family I bet, we love trying new flavor combinations. When traveling, we enjoy sampling local foods and even bringing some ideas home to try in our own kitchen. Having said that, we also love to eat dishes that are comforting, familiar, and, of course, yummy. Two of our all-time favorite cuisines are Mexican and Italian. They both are full of popular dishes and we eat them quite often. Today, we are serving them together.

Thanks to the great folks at NFRA for making this Italian-Mexican dinner post possible. As always, my comments, opinions, and my love for traditional flavors from around the world are my own.

RELATED POST: World Cuisine Wednesday

When I was asked to assemble an Italian-Mexican dinner I was pleased as you might guess. Since March is Frozen Food Month I headed to the freezer aisle in my supermarket to see what was available for an entree. I knew I wanted to assemble a delicious dinner, including an entree, salad, beverage and dessert, but I didn't want to spend hours in the kitchen.

I found one of my favorite Italian dishes in the freezer aisle, Eggplant Parmesan. It was perfect, because I knew if I were to make Eggplant Parmesan on my own from scratch at home, it could take a long time, but I still craved it and it's a dish my kids hadn't tried yet. Michael Angelo's Eggplant Parmesan fit the bill perfectly, it takes little time to prepare (16 minutes in the microwave or 35-45 minutes in a conventional oven) its's made like I would do it at home and it's truly delicious. I can taste every tomato, every eggplant, and they are deliciously covered with imported cheeses. Plus, it has none of those pesky preservatives.

The family size box fed my family of 4 and I didn't have extra dishes to clean (heaven!). Are you ready to prepare an Italian-Mexican dinner for your family too? This is what I did:

An Italian-Mexican Dinner

Entree: Michael Angelo's® Family Size Eggplant Parmesan

Side dish: Mexican green salad. Spicy arugula, sweet carrots, crunchy jicama and more, recipe below.

Beverage: Refreshing lime agua fresca, made in just minutes. Lime Agua Fresca Recipe

Dessert: (optional) Lime and chile granita, cool, sweet, with a hint of salt and spice. I recommend making this one day ahead or early in the morning. Lime and Chile Granita Recipe.

What do you think?

The green salad goes really well with the eggplant parmesan, here is my take on it.

Mexican Green Salad

Serves 4

4 cups arugula, washed
1 Mexican cucumber, washed, peeled and sliced
4-5 radicchio leaves, washed and chopped into big pieces
5-6 fresh basil leaves, washed and chopped
1 large carrot, washed and peeled
1/2 small jicama, washed and peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix arugula, cucumber, radicchio, and basil. Using a vegetable peeler, shave long ribbons of carrot and jicama over the salad. Set aside.

Mix olive oil, lemon juice, honey until well integrated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress the salad.

Buen provecho!

For more inspiration during this Frozen Food Month or any time, and to discover flavors from around the world right in your local supermarket’s frozen and dairy aisles, check out the NFRA at www.EasyHomeMeals.com, and our “Cool Food Panel” board on Pinterest.

Print the recipe

Mexican Green Salad

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

4 cups arugula washed
1 Mexican cucumber washed, peeled and sliced
4-5 radicchio leaves washed and chopped into big pieces
5-6 fresh basil leaves washed and chopped
1 large carrot washed and peeled
1/2 small jicama washed and peeled
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Mix arugula, cucumber, radicchio, and basil. Using a vegetable peeler, shave long ribbons of carrot and jicama over the salad. Set aside.
Mix olive oil, lemon juice, honey until well integrated. Add salt and pepper to taste. Dress the salad.

Course: Salads

Cuisine: Italian, Mexican

Author: Silvia Martinez

Notes

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Silvia Martinez

Silvia started bilingual website Mama Latina Tips in 2009 to connect and share her stories, recipes and culture with readers. Silvia loves dancing, cooking, watching movies, reading, throwing Mexican parties and spending time with family and friends. Silvia is the winner of The Great American Recipe.

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