Shrimp and rice salad

Tomatoes show up on the Casa Bouquet supper table most days in summer. This old-time shrimp and rice salad recipe works with fresh or frozen shrimp and is a refreshing meal on a hot day.

You will need a tomato knife, a small whisk, and a pot for cooking shrimp and/or rice.

In a bowl large enough to hold 4 or more cups, add the light mayonnaise with olive oil,  lemon juice, and lemon pepper (or key lime pepper.) Whisk together until blended. Cut the end off four sweet banana peppers, slice open and remove seeds. Cut peppers into ½ inch wide slices. Add to bowl. Add chopped green olives with pimiento (Spanish sliced salad olives with minced pimientos.) [If desired, add an additional ¼ cup of minced pimiento.] Add cooled cooked brown rice. Add  cooked cooled shrimp, cleaned with tails off. Lightly toss the salad. If desired, add Tuscan or jerk seasoning to taste.

Wash, quarter, and thinly slice 4 tomatoes. Lay each tomato on a dinner plate so that the surface is covered with slices. Sprinkle with sea salt (I like to use guava garlic flavored salt from The Salty Wahine.) Mound one-fourth of the shrimp salad on each plate. Garnish with lemon wedges. Serve with French dressing (the pinkish creamy kind), about 1 tbsp. per serving.

Nutrition facts for entire recipe. Makes 4 servings.

For a lighter dressing, mix 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, and ½ teaspoon of lemon pepper (or key lime pepper.) Whisk together until blended.

To cook brown rice: Bring 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt to a boil. Stir in 1 cup of brown rice. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste for doneness (you may need to add 5 more minutes cooking time.) When done, remove the rice from the pot with a slotted spoon if some water is remaining.

To defrost frozen cooked shrimp: Place shrimp in a bowl of cold tap water for 20 minutes. Pour into a colander and rinse.

To cook fresh shrimp: Peel the shrimp. Pull off the vein on the back (you might need tweezers.) Bring 6 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon Old Bay or 1 teaspoon Zatarain’s seafood boil spices (check package directions). Add the shrimp and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Drain the shrimp, pull off the tails, and place in reclosable plastic storage bags. Place the bags of shrimp in a bowl of ice water to cool.

I’ll be looking for comments below, or contact me at lisa [at] thecasabouquet[dot]com.

Related links

• http://saltywahine.com/guava-garlic.html
  • Guava garlic Hawaiian sea salt from Salty Wahine
• http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/08/sauced-creamy-french-dressing-recipe.html
  • Creamy French dressing recipe from Serious Eats
• http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodsalads.html#tomatofrench
  • Tomato-based French dressing history from Food Timeline
• http://whatscookingamerica.net/ShrimpTips.htm
  • All about shrimp from What’s Cooking America

Let’s talk story

I love this recipe when our family is staying at the beach. I love getting freshly caught shrimp from the fish market and serving this shrimp and rice salad with farmer’s market tomatoes. Sometimes a cold supper is just right after a day of sun and sand!

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