Shrimp Salad with Romaine, Cherry Peppers, and Lemon-Garlic Dressing

Crispy romaine lettuce, zippy cherry peppers, and a lemony, garlic dressing make this green salad with shrimp a flavor bomb! This is an easy salad recipe with olive oil-poached shrimp that you will want to keep handy and make year-round.

So I originally made this shrimp salad at Christmas. It looks like Christmas, doesn’t it? It was actually a bunch of Christmas leftovers, a “what’s in the cupboard” moment – which you know is where some of my best recipes come from. I had leftover Gambas al Ajillo, and bits and bobs from other dishes, and needed a quick meal before getting out of the house to meet friends.

But since then, I’ve found that it’s also a great summer dish. You barely have to turn on the stove to cook the shrimp, then just chop the lettuce, slice a few peppers and you’re done. The dressing is made from the olive oil that the shrimp cooked in, with a squeeze of lemon.

I love this recipe because when you are searching for a shrimp salad recipe, you get a lot of mayonnaise-based options – which can be good under the right circumstances – but more often, I want a green salad with shrimp to keep meals a little lighter.

Maybe this shrimp salad looks like Christmas, but it tastes like the beach, which I will take any time of the year.

If you’re looking for a green salad with shrimp that is simple to make and tastes great, this is it!

Related recipes: Gambas al Ajillo, Roasted Vegetable Salad with Charred Lemon Vinaigrette.

Shrimp Salad with Romaine, Cherry Peppers, and Lemon-Garlic Dressing

Serves 4

For the salad:

2 heads Romaine lettuce

6 hot sweet cherry peppers

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

 

For the shrimp:

1 lemon

For the dressing:

1/4 cup garlic-infused olive oil that was used to cook the shrimp

1 lemon

pinch kosher salt

 

Instructions: 

Remove shells from shrimp, leaving tails on.

Toss in a bowl with 1 tsp kosher salt, let stand 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and olive oil to a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over moderately low heat. You are gently and slowly infusing the olive oil with the garlic flavor. Poaching the garlic, really. Stir occasionally, until the garlic is fragrant and has just barely started to brown.

Throw in the pinch of red pepper flakes and give it a stir.

Add the shrimp to the skillet, keeping the heat moderately low. Keep them all in one layer, don’t pile them up.

When they are barely pink on one side, flip them all over and let cook for maybe a minute. When they have all barely turned pink, remove from heat immediately and allow to finish cooking in the warm oil.

The cooking time will vary depending upon the size of the shrimp you buy. But it generally goes pretty fast. Don’t walk away! Just remember you don’t want to overcook shrimp, but you also should NOT be eating grey shrimp…

Top with the parsley.

To make the salad: 

In a dry skillet over medium-low heat, toast pepitas for a couple of minutes until warm and fragrant. Transfer to a plate to cool.

Chop romaine lettuce into wide ribbons. 

Slice cherry peppers into thin slivers. 

Once the oil has cooled a bit, make the dressing. Spoon off 1/4 cup of olive oil from the shrimp into a bowl, making sure to grab a generous amount of the garlic slivers. Squeeze the juice from half the lemon into the bowl and mix thoroughly. Taste and add a pinch of kosher salt and more lemon juice if necessary.