Summer Salad Days...Featuring Chopped Shrimp Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette #summerfood #maindishsalad #shrimp #gulfseafood #healthymeals #eattherainbow

It's the dog days of Summer...hot and humid. The kind of weather that makes me crave lighter meals that don't heat up my kitchen. My Chopped Shrimp Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette is refreshing on a warm evening…but it’s filling enough to satisfy hearty appetites. The trick to preparing this salad as quickly as possible is to start with peeled and deveined shrimp. With a bit of multitasking, this flavorful salad is ready to serve in about 30 minutes. It features seasoned grilled shrimp, avocado, crumbled feta, crisp seasonal veggies, and a bit of crunch. Don’t be intimidated by the homemade dressing – it only uses a few simple ingredients and comes together quickly. 

Chopped Shrimp Salad 
with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette

a Weekend Gourmet Original

Ingredients (makes 2-3 dinner servings):

• 1 bag chopped romaine or baby field greens
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
• 12 grape tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium avocado, peeled and diced
• 1 bunch green onion, thinly sliced
• 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
• 3/4 cup packaged wonton strips
• 3/4 cup sliced almonds
• 1 lbs. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 TBS Cajun seasoning 
• 1 TBS olive oil

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 TBS fresh lime juice
• 2 TBS honey
• 1 tsp. dried cilantro
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Step 1: Evenly coat a cast-iron grill pan with the olive oil. Heat grill pan over Med-High heat for five minutes. Sprinkle zucchini slices with half of the Cajun spice. Grill zucchini pieces until they're cooked and have grill marks on both sides. While the zucchini cooks, sprinkle remaining Cajun seasoning on the shrimp and toss to evenly coat.

[NOTE: On my grill pan, the zucchini cooked about 5 minutes per side.] 

Step 2: Set the cooked zucchini aside. Sear shrimp until they're cooked through -- this takes about 3 minutes per side. Remove cooked shrimp to a cutting board and chop into bite-sized pieces. While the shrimp cook, this gives you a pocket of time to slice the green onions, grape tomatoes, and avocado.

Step 3: Make the dressing by adding the olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, honey, and salt & pepper to a small bowl. Whisk until the honey is completely incorporated.

Step 4: Assemble the salad. Add chopped romaine or baby field greens to the bottom of a large, shallow serving bowl. Drizzle the greens with half of the vinaigrette. Place chopped shrimp in the middle of the bowl, in a circular pattern. Arrange the almonds, wonton crisps, avocado, tomatoes, green onions, feta, and zucchini in sections around the shrimp. Just before serving, drizzle the rest of the dressing on top of the salad and mix the ingredients.

This salad is an explosion of flavors and textures...making every bite slightly different. The tangy feta, creamy avocado, crunchy almonds and wonton strips...and sweet and spicy shrimp...combine to make a fabulous main dish salad. I had never added cooked zucchini to a salad before, but their earthy flavor works really nice here. The dressing was perfect: light and sweetly tart. I love this salad!

The good news? This versatile salad can be tweaked to fit a variety of dietary needs! If you're allergic to – or don’t eat – seafood, use cubes of grilled chicken instead. To make this salad vegetarian-friendly, use grilled tofu cubes or roasted chickpeas. Watching your carbs? Simply leave off the wonton crisps...and use your favorite low-carb dressing.