Entree Style Salads for Summer

Crispy, crunchy and delightfully refreshing. Salads have a way of making Summer especially satisfying. So satisfying in fact, that during the Summer, I often eat a salad as my main entree. During the hot days when I come home sweaty and exhausted from sitting in traffic, walking in 90 degree weather or simply soaking up the sun, nothing is more refreshing that a cool fresh meal. And with 100's of salad recipes out there, the possibilities are endless. No longer are we confined to the Cobb. When I make a salad I love mixing new ingredients each time. Candied nuts, raisins, cranberries, pears, dill, apples, beets, radishes, chicken, seafood, cilantro, feta or goat cheese, mustard, lemon, soy sauce are just a few ingredients I like to play around with when creating a new and unique salad.

Here is a recipe for one of my favorite entree style salads. I love shrimp tossed in a pungent Asian dressing with a hint of spice and this recipe has just that. The shrimp makes it a hearty meal and the cool cabbage keeps it light. I hope this encourages you to go out and explore all the neat and delicious salad recipes that are out there. Or have fun creating your own!


If you like this recipe you will love my Entree Style Salads class on July 15th. Just visit Amandacooks.com to register.

Thai Shrimp Salad with Asian Dressing
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Marinating time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

Salad:
1 pound large shrimp, peeled, de-veined
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 stalk lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed, minced
2 small carrots, peeled, julienne into 3 inch strips, blanched
1/2 large European cucumber, seeded, julienne in 3 inch strips
2 cups thinly sliced red cabbage
Dressing:
3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
1 Tb. roughly chopped ginger
¼ to ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
5 Tablespoons canola oil
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
5 Tb. cilantro, chopped
3 Tb. mint, chopped
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

Procedure

1. Combine the shrimp with the soy sauce, sesame oil and the lemongrass. Marinate for 30 minutes.
2. In a large bowl toss together the carrots, cucumber and cabbage.
3. Combine the vinegar, sugar, ginger, red pepper flakes and soy sauce in the processor. Add the canola and sesame oil slowly thru the feed tube. Stir in the cilantro and mint. Taste and adjust seasoning and set aside.
4. Heat a grilling pan until hot. Grill the shrimp two to three minutes on each side.
5. Toss the dressing with the vegetables and arrange on a serving platter. Place the shrimp around the outside of the platter and garnish with the nuts.

Make ahead tip: You can make the entire salad up to one day before and
serve at room temperature. The dressing can be made up to a week ahead.

Alternatives: Use scallops or firm tofu instead of shrimp and omit the peanut
if you wish. An alternative to lemongrass is 1 tablespoon of lime zest