Shrimp and Avacado Salad
So the other day when I was at Trader Joe's, they had someone making something at the sample counter. Unless it sounds totally grotesque, I usually try anything they make and so I tried this little sample of something without really looking at what it was. And it did exactly what they wanted it to do; I went and bought the two main ingredients right then and there.
So what was it? A salad of the chunky variety, used as a way to push their frozen salad-sized shrimp and roasted tomatillo salsa. I recreated it tonight and it was totally yummeh, so I thought I'd pass it on to you.
First off, you don't have to use their salsa. What you want is any fairly thin, non-chunky salsa that you like, although you're better off if it's the fresh kind you either make yourself or buy in the deli section. You want something a little nicer than the stuff that comes in a jar. Secondly, while this is the way I made it, I'm going to make a few suggestions for other additions and you can add things of your own; it's that kind of salad.
8 oz. cooked salad-sized shrimp. These are the tiny ones and that's a good thing because they're usually fairly inexpensive.
two ripe avadcados, peeled and diced into roughly 1/2 inch cubes. Do them just when you're about to put the salad together so they don't turn dark.
one and a half medium sized cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced into roughly 1/2 inch cubes. Normally I don't bother with peeling cucumbers, but in this case it's a good idea.
12 oz prepared salsa. As I say above, this should be the thinner, non-chunky type of salsa as it's essentially serving as your dressing here.
a couple of squirts--maybe 1/8 teaspoon--lemon or lime juice.
Extras
2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped fine. Obviously if you are one of those people with the odd taste reaction to cilantro, don't use it here. I didn't use it because I wasn't thinking; I even have some fresh right now.
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced into roughly half inch cubes. I don't like bell peppers of any color so I left them out. I think the salad I had at TJs had them in it.
If you want to make this vegetarian you can leave the shrimp out and maybe replace it with some jicama or zucchini. If you're careful and check the ingredients of your salsa--or make your own--this is gluten-free; I'm planning on passing this recipe along to my former housemates.
The prep is impossibly hard:
After you've chopped your veggies, throw everything but the lemon juice into a bowl and mix gently. Squirt the lemon juice over it and mix gently again. Serve cold. You can make this in advance; the acid of the salsa and the lemon juice will keep the avocados from turning dark. It's not the worlds most attractive salad; if you wanted to make it look better, I'd suggest serving it on a couple of nice dark lettuce leaves with a little cilantro or parsley sprig on the side.
Depending on what else you're serving, this recipe will serve 4-6 people. We split a large quesadilla, but it would have been equally nice all by itself with only tortillas--corn or flour-- or even tortilla chips on the side. It would also go well with a nice steak or grilled chicken breast. The good thing about having it tonight was that I had the stove on for maybe five minutes while making the quesadilla and so it didn't heat up the kitchen.
So what was it? A salad of the chunky variety, used as a way to push their frozen salad-sized shrimp and roasted tomatillo salsa. I recreated it tonight and it was totally yummeh, so I thought I'd pass it on to you.
First off, you don't have to use their salsa. What you want is any fairly thin, non-chunky salsa that you like, although you're better off if it's the fresh kind you either make yourself or buy in the deli section. You want something a little nicer than the stuff that comes in a jar. Secondly, while this is the way I made it, I'm going to make a few suggestions for other additions and you can add things of your own; it's that kind of salad.
Extras
If you want to make this vegetarian you can leave the shrimp out and maybe replace it with some jicama or zucchini. If you're careful and check the ingredients of your salsa--or make your own--this is gluten-free; I'm planning on passing this recipe along to my former housemates.
The prep is impossibly hard:
After you've chopped your veggies, throw everything but the lemon juice into a bowl and mix gently. Squirt the lemon juice over it and mix gently again. Serve cold. You can make this in advance; the acid of the salsa and the lemon juice will keep the avocados from turning dark. It's not the worlds most attractive salad; if you wanted to make it look better, I'd suggest serving it on a couple of nice dark lettuce leaves with a little cilantro or parsley sprig on the side.
Depending on what else you're serving, this recipe will serve 4-6 people. We split a large quesadilla, but it would have been equally nice all by itself with only tortillas--corn or flour-- or even tortilla chips on the side. It would also go well with a nice steak or grilled chicken breast. The good thing about having it tonight was that I had the stove on for maybe five minutes while making the quesadilla and so it didn't heat up the kitchen.