Shrimp and Spring Vegetable Salad

Article first published as Recipe: Shrimp and Spring Vegetable Salad with Lemon Tarragon Vinaigrette on Blogcritics.

I recently had a business lunch at Clyde’s, a favorite DC area restaurant.   Check them out here: http://www.clydes.com/main/index.cfm.   I had such an amazing shrimp salad that I couldn’t wait to go home and try to recreate it, lightened up of course.  You’ll love the sweetness of the shrimp, coupled with the bitterness of the radicchio and the tart lemon herb dressing.  This salad would make a wonderful luncheon, or be right in place at a springtime brunch table.  I’m serving it for dinner tonight with a gorgeous New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and some toasted flatbread.  I think we’ll wrap up the meal with mango sorbet and some mixed fresh berries.

By the way, if you’re using this for family dinner and your kids are not big salad eaters, you can follow this plan.  Place 4 shrimp per kid on a plate, add a slice of bacon, a side of edamame, some cut up radishes (if your kids will eat them), string cheese, and mixed fruit to round out their meal.

Ingredients

Salad

1 lb. cooked shrimp

1 head romaine lettuce

1 head radicchio

5 radishes, thinly sliced

½ cup shelled edamame *

½ cup fresh English peas*

12 small cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Small handful of mint leaves, torn or chopped

Small handful of basil leaves, torn or chopped

4 pieces center cut bacon or turkey bacon, cooked until crisp

2 oz. crumbled goat cheese

Dressing

3 Tbsp good quality EVOO

1 Tbsp Sherry vinegar

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 Tbsp finely minced shallots

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves

1 tsp honey

Salt & pepper to Taste

Preparation

First, make the dressing so the flavors will meld.   Pour the Sherry vinegar into a small bowl, add the lemon juice and zest, finely chopped shallots, honey, Dijon mustard, and chopped tarragon.  If you don’t have sherry vinegar, any wine-based vinegar will do (Champagne vinegar would be lovely too).  Then, slowly drizzle in the olive oil while you whisk, so the dressing emulsifies.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.

Now, move onto the salad.  I buy the shrimp pre-cooked, but you could steam or poach raw ones if you prefer and allow them to cool.  You can also buy the bacon pre-cooked, but I prefer to cook about 4 slices of center-cut bacon, which has less fat and calories than regular bacon, but with all the flavor.  Feel free to cook more and use the rest for bacon turkey BBQ cheeseburgers later in the week (that’s my plan!).    Again, you can use turkey bacon for an even more health-conscious approach to the dish, just be sure it’s cooked crisply.  Once cooled, crumble it up.

Rinse, spin and dry the romaine and radicchio well.  I use a whole head of both, chopped and then torn into small pieces.  Put the prepped greens into a salad bowl, add the torn herbs, and toss with most of the dressing, seasoning a bit with good sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Then, add the peas, shelled edamame, thinly sliced radishes, crumbled bacon, crumbled goat cheese, and halved cherry tomatoes.  Toss salad lightly and dish up into individual serving bowls or plates.  Top each serving with shrimp and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the shrimp.   

This whole meal will take less than 15 minutes and gives you at least 2 servings of vegetables, lean protein from the shrimp and edamame, and tons of fiber.  Enjoy!

One more thing: here’s a note about the edamame and peas.  You can often find cooked, shelled edamame (soybeans) in the produce section of higher end grocers.  If not, don’t sweat it.  You can use frozen, thawed shelled edamame.  It’s the same with the peas.  If fresh English peas are available, great, but if not, don’t hesitate to use frozen peas, or pea shoots if you can find them.  If asparagus is in season, throw that in too! Just blanch it for 2 minutes in salted, boiling water and then shock it in an ice bath.

Enjoy this quick, fabulous springtime meal tonight!    

Daphne's Vegetarian Chili

Since this is my first post on this new blog, let me tell you a little about what I’m all about.  I love to cook – it’s always been like therapy for me.  If I get snowed in, I might experiment with risotto.  If I get fired, my freezer will fill up with a dozen kinds of gelato.  If I lose a beloved pet, I’m likely to channel my grief into perfecting my Bolognese sauce.  I’ve also celebrated with food my entire life.   When a holiday approaches, my first thought is always “what will I serve?”  I can’t imagine having weekend guests without laying out a four course meal and followed by a yummy brunch in the morning.

Now that I have a family, I’m trying to raise my kids with an appreciation for a wide range of unprocessed, healthy foods.  As a woman over 40, I’m also constantly struggling with keeping weight off and trying to balance this with my love of amazing cuisine.  So, I’ve adapted lots of recipes and techniques I read to be much more calorie and fat-conscious, and to more fully utilize whole grains and fruits and vegetables. 

I use recipes for inspiration, but to be honest, I don’t measure anything (unless I’m baking…and even then, I’m pretty loosy-goosy), so all the amounts in here will be approximate.  When my recipe comes from an external source, I’ll note it as such and provide a link back to the original recipe.  I never really follow recipes to the tee myself, but use my imagination and what is already in my refrigerator or what I see at the Farmer’s Market to fill in the gaps and change them up.  My goal is to inspire others to get out of their comfort zone and try to cook something new, explore new flavor profiles, and cook healthy, yummy, affordable and fun dinners for your loved ones. 

So, onto today’s recipe: Vegetarian Chili.  I’m definitely NOT a vegetarian.  I’m a die-hard carnivore but I do like to try to do meatless, or nearly meatless, meals about once a week.  It’s good for the earth, it’s good for our bank account and it’s a sneaky way to get my husband and kids to eat more veggies.  If you’re not into any of that, you can definitely use meat in this dish and it will be great!  That’s actually how I made it the first time, using ground turkey instead of the soy crumbles and chicken stock instead of the vegetable broth.  It’s your call!  Also, if you’re missing any of the spices or ingredients, don’t sweat it!  Everything is negotiable and this recipe is based on what I had handy when I made it – you could switch out things, or just omit a few items, and change it up a bit.  The idea is to have fun!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 Tbsp canola or light olive oil

1 medium yellow or sweet onion, finely chopped

1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded, and chopped

1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ cup matchstick carrots, chopped into smaller pieces

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried oregano

2 Tbsp ground cumin

3 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 tsp crushed red pepper

1tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp prepared Dijon mustard

1 pkg Morningstar Grillers or Boca Crumbles (In your grocer’s freezer section)

½ bottle of beer (IPA or Belgian-style works great)

1 15 oz. can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes with packing liquid

1 32 oz. container of vegetable broth, or reduced sodium chicken stock

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 15 oz. can great northern beans, drained and rinsed

¼ cup chopped cilantro

¾ cup frozen sweet corn

1 lb, butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into a ½ inch dice

Salt & pepper to taste

Hot sauce to taste

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium high heat.  Add all the chopped vegetables (onion, jalapeno, sweet peppers, garlic, and carrots).  Cook about 5 minutes until softened.  Add in the spices, using amounts to your preference.  Continue to cook for 2-4 minutes to allow the spices to toast so their flavor and aroma will fully bloom.   Add the Dijon mustard and the frozen meatless crumbles.  (If using ground turkey, brown that first in the oil and then add in the vegetables and spices and proceed to the next steps.)   Now, deglaze the pan with the beer – feel free to drink the other half of the bottle at this point too!  If you don't like cooking with alcohol, you can use broth for this part too.  Deglazing is a fancy word for adding liquid to a pot with meat and/or veggies and aromatics cooking.  When you add the liquid, and scrape up the bottom of the pot, you’ll get a lot of yummy browned bits packed with flavor.   Next add the tomatoes along with any liquid in the can, and add the broth.  Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes on medium.  Now, add all the well-rinsed and drained beans and simmer for 5-10 minutes more uncovered.  By the way, you can use any variety of beans you prefer or have on hand,  I just like this variety, but you could use all one kind if you prefer or just sub out any that are not your cup of tea.  Now, add the frozen corn kernels and diced butternut squash, cover, and simmer on med-low for about 15-20 additional minutes.  Add the fresh, chopped cilantro and season to taste with salt, pepper, hot sauce, and any more of the spices from the earlier addition. 

This is a great healthy chili on it’s own. It’s also wonderful over whole-grain spaghetti, or as topping for a baked potato.  I like to top it with finely chopped green onions, shredded reduced fat Monterrey jack cheese,  and light sour cream or greek-style yogurt.  It makes a big batch so feel free to freeze half of it right away.  If you don’t dig corn, butternut squash or cilantro, you can omit those.  Be daring though – all of those unusual additions give the chili great texture, and a wonderful depth of flavor.  Plus, they boost the fiber, vitamin and antioxidant content, and they stretch the dish very economically.  Round out your meal with some more of that beer (you probably had to buy a 6-pack anyway, right?) and something light and fruity for dessert. Now, time to put some yummy in your tummy!