This is another dish that came out of my Random Number Generator game. The page was shrimp, and since summer is definitely upon us I wanted to make a light salad with the flavors of a ceviche. Ceviche is a Latin American dish usually prepared by curing raw fish or shrimp in citrus juice – somewhere between sushi and actually cooking the fish. However, I just went ahead and cooked the shrimp to avoid the hassle. The addition of corn, avocado, red onion, lime, and chili powder really made it seem like ceviche and the beans and spinach stretched it into a full meal.

The details:

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Thought process:

Because this dish was CONFINED, both by the random number generator and the flavors of ceviche, it was pretty easy to choose the ingredients. I took a risk by adding peaches, hoping they would add a surprising acid and sweetness. For the dressing, I relied on my trusty RATIO for vinaigrettes.

Below, the recipe:

Tropical Shrimp Salad
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• 3 cobs corn, kernels removed
• 2 avocados, cubed
• 1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 peaches, peeled and diced
• ¼ red onion, diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 pound frozen shrimp, thawed and peeled
• ½ Tbsp chili powder
• ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 15 oz white beans, drained
• 1 fresno chile pepper, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz spinach
• Cotija cheese

Dressing:

• ¼ cup lime juice
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, chunked
• ½ tsp whole grain mustard
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro

1. In a large bowl, combine the corn kernels, avocado, cucumber, peaches, onion, and lime juice
2. Toss the shrimp with the chili powder, cumin, ½ tsp salt, pepper, and 1 Tbsp oil
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 Tbsp oil over med-hi heat and add the fresno chile and garlic until fragrant, ~1 min
4. Add the white beans, season with salt and pepper and saute until soft and brownish, ~2 min
5. Remove the beans to the bowl with the vegetables, add 2 Tbsp oil to the pan and cook the shrimp until just opaque, ~ 5 min
6. Combine the dressing ingredients in a screw top container and shake to emulsify
7. Toss the vegetables and beans with half the dressing and ½ tsp salt
8. To plate, toss the spinach with the other half of the dressing, top with vegetable salad, then arrange shrimp. Top with cheese and cilantro leaves.

Rating:

3/5 stars.

This was ok. The vegetable mix with the shrimp was tasty if not that inventive. My main problem was that it did not store for leftovers well, which will hopefully not be your problem. I also did not think spinach was the right choice of lettuce here.