Shrimp Salad with Lettuce, Feta and Lemon-Garlic Dressing
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 407kcal
This lighter take on shrimp salad, made with lettuce and without mayo can be customized to your taste and ingredients you have on hand. The shrimp cooks in less than 15 minutes!
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Ingredients
Salad
- 2 heads romaine lettuce or butter lettuce
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 6 cherry peppers
- ¼ cup feta cheese
Shrimp:
- 1 pound shrimp 21-30 per pound size
- 1 ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup garlic thinly sliced
- ¼ cup parsley minced
- pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- kosher salt
Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil that was used to cook the shrimp
- 1 lemon
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- In a dry skillet over medium-low heat, toast pumpkin seeds 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
- Remove shells from shrimp, leaving tails on. Toss in a bowl with 1 teaspoon 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.
- Once the oil has cooled a bit, make the dressing. Spoon off ¼ 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.
- Place chopped lettuce onto serving plates and drizzle with dressing. Sprinkle with feta, pumpkin seeds, and slivered peppers. Top with shrimp and drizzle with a bit more dressing. Serve with lemon wedges on the side.
- Spoon more of the garlic olive oil from the shrimp into a bowl with crusty bread for dipping.
Notes
- You can make the shrimp up to two days ahead and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- You can substitute piquillo peppers or roasted red peppers for the cherry peppers.
Nutrition
Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 294mg | Sodium: 1015mg | Potassium: 951mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 27620IU | Vitamin C: 24.8mg | Calcium: 334mg | Iron: 6.3mg