Mad Fact

Villa was a skilled horseman and was so often on horseback during the Mexican Revolution that he earned the nickname “the Centaur of the North.”

Green Fact

Corn is an excellent source of fiber...plus it gives us plenty of "chewing satisfaction," and its high ratio of insoluble-to-soluble fiber is partly the reason.

Pancho Villa

Seasonal item available in: Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Utah

Chef's Inspiration

An iconic symbol of the Fall harvest season, corn is one of my favorite vegetables to eat...especially when prepared "elote" style. Elote (literally "corn cob" in Spanish) are a popular street food found throughout Mexico, especially in autumn, and are grilled and then slathered in cream, crumbly cheese and spices. But how do you harness that amazing Elote flavor with a salad? Well first, I had to eat as much of it as I possibly could to taste different styles and flavor combos.

Turns out, the secret is in the sauce...the creamy, spicy cheese was the top priority (and thus, the Cilantro Chili Lime Dressing was born). The slightly nutty flavor of warm quinoa contrasted its richness perfectly and a heaping serving of hearty baby greens adds body and nutrients like protein and fiber. I added the necessary double serving of grilled corn plus some MAD Spice pumpkin seeds for the crunch. The Pancho Villa combines all of the flavors and textures of the famously popular Elote street cart snack in a less messy and easier to eat option.

MAD Story

As a child, Pancho Villa loved all things pumpkin*…but he was especially obsessed with the seeds. He would warm them up in the sun and eat them by the bucketful, sometimes consuming up to 17,000 pumpkin seeds a day! He literally never ate anything else for the first nine years of his life. One afternoon, his younger brother bought some elote from a local food cart and was happily chomping down while walking with Pancho (who, of course, was toting a half-eaten bucket of pumpkin seeds) when the husk-handle broke and sent the corn flying! The creamy, juicy corn dropped right into the seed bucket and when Pancho reached in to retrieve the elote, it emerged completely covered. Without thinking, he took a bite and started to tingle with joy. (His body was reacting to ingesting new nutrients like fiber and antioxidants for the first time in nine years.) After the tingling subsided, Pancho was overjoyed to discover that he loved this new combo even MORE than just plain pumpkin seeds: the crunch of the corn…the velvety sauce…the subtle spice…it all paired with the seeds better than he could've imagined. But how did this unique combination make it to MAD Greens? Well Chef Dan was behind Pancho's brother in line at the food cart so he witnessed the whole scene first-hand. And the rest, as they say, is history.

*The phrase "que te pasa, calabaza" was originally coined by Pancho's mother.