I was looking around for a really exceptional shrimp salad and found a recipe for a warm lobster salad that had the general idea. This is a simplified and slightly adjusted version of that, and is over-the-top delicious! The one thing to keep in mind is that your salad shrimp is
already cooked and, of course, the cardinal rule of seafood is "don't overcook
 |
| the 'veg' |
it". It's helpful to have everything else ready before you begin to warm your shrimp up so that you avoid the hazard of leaving it simmering (and thus over cooking) while you fuss with cutting lettuce and such.
2 T plus 1 T olive oil
2 teaspoons plus 1 T rice wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup sweet peppers - diced
1/3 cup sweet onion - diced
2 cups chopped mushrooms (I like to use crimini)
6 to 8oz pancetta, diced (Trader Joe's has this in a pack in the meat section and it's no problem to sub bacon or leave it out entirely)
16 oz salad shrimp
Lettuce
Cucumber, diced
Thin, cross-section sliced bread, toasted (Trader Joes sells a pack of "parmesan crisps" that are perfect!)
Hard boiled eggs, sliced
Avocado, sliced
In a small bowl, pour 1T of olive oil and 2 tsp. rice wine vinegar. Season with salt and
pepper and wisk to combine - this will be your vinaigrette dressing for the lettuce! Hard boil those eggs, chop up your salad and season the avocado slices with a little salt. Toss the salad with the dressing and set aside.
In a sauté pan, drizzle the 2T of olive oil in the bottom and then toss in the peppers, onions and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes or until softened to your preference - I like mine cooked through but you might want to shorten up the time if you like a little crunch left on your veg. Stir in the pancetta and 1 T rice wine vinegar and cook for another minute. Add your salad shrimp, fold into the other ingredients and remove from the heat. Stack some thinly sliced toast pieces on top of your green salad and place a big scoop of the warm shrimp mixture on top of the toast. Serve immediately with white wine and a smile. Enjoy!
