Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Two Delicious Salads, One Yummy Dressing


Grilled Shrimp & Quinoa Salad, Mango Cashew Salad, Cilantro Lime Dressing




Cilantro Lime Dressing:

  • 3 Limes
  • 1/2 Bunch of Cilantro Leaves
  • 1 Tbsp Tarragon Dijon Mustard (or regular Dijon)
  • 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (good quality)
  • Pinch of Sea Salt
  • Pinch of Pepper
Chop the cilantro, removing as much of the stems as possible. Add the juice from the lime and all the ingredients into a Magic Bullet or blender. Blend until all ingredients are combined and the dressing is slightly emulsified.
If you don't have a Magic Bullet or Blender to use, then combined all ingredients in a bowl except the oil. Using a metal whisk, whisk vigorously. Keep whisking while you slowly add the oil, a little bit at a time, until all the oil has been combined. This should create the same results....only with a lot more muscle work!

Grilled Shrimp & Quinoa Salad


Grilled Shrimp & Quinoa Salad:

  • 2 Cups Quinoa (could use 1 cup regular and 1 cup red quinoa)
  • 1 Bag Frozen Shrimp (fresh would be even better!)
  • 2 Cans of Corn (if it's corn season, use fresh corn)
  • 1 Pint Organic Cherry Tomatoes
  • 3 Avocados (firm but ripe)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 Jalapeños (seeded and finely chopped) 
  • 1 Bunch Cilantro (use flat leaf parsley & my citrus dressing  if you hate cilantro)
  • Dash of Sea Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Cook the quinoa as per package directions. I use a rice cooker for mine and it always comes out perfectly. Let quinoa cool before mixing with the rest of the ingredients.

Defrost and rinse shrimp under cold water. Drain, pat dry & skewer. Grill Shrimp on BBQ for about 3 minutes on each side - Do NOT over cook them!


Now here's the annoying part...once shrimp is cool enough to touch, peel off all the shells. This takes a while but it really makes a difference to your guests - No one likes taking shells off their shrimps once they are in a meal!

Next, slice the tomatoes in halves, lengthwise and add to bowl of cooled quinoa and peeled shrimp.

Add drained or fresh corn kernels.

Cube avocados and soak them in the lime juice for 1 minute. This will prevent them from browning. Add to bowl, discarding leftover lime juice.

Roughly chop the cilantro, using just the leaves (it's ok if there are a few stems in there too :)


Now add approximately 1/4 cup of the Cilantro Lime Dressing, a little dash of sea salt and as much cracked black pepper as you like. Give it a really good toss and voila! You've got yourself a delicious, nutritious salad that will keep for about 4 days in the fridge.
Serves about 12+ side dish sized portions.





Mango Cashew Salad with Spinach & Sunflower Sprouts:

Cube Mangoes.
Roughly chop the cashews. 
Add all ingredients together in a bowl (use as many or as little sprouts as you like). 
Add approximately 2 tablespoons of the Cilantro Lime Dressing and toss well.

Enjoy!!!
Serves about 4-6 side dishes or 2-3 main dishes. You could add chicken or shrimp to this to make a yummy dinner too.

2 comments:

Gracious Living said...

mmmmmm sprouts look awesome! are you growing your own? can't wait to try growing them when i come home (you can't get sunflower seeds here! :)

Mandy said...

I'm going to try growing them this summer too!

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