Summer Seafood

Need a light, fresh and tasty dinner? I found this recipe for a grilled summer salad in Giada De Laurentiis’s cookbook, originally served cold. I wish my apartment had access to a grill, but this was still delicious baking the shrimp and sautéing the vegetables until they were slightly browned. Using the marinade to double as the salad dressing saves time, while maintaining the flavor of the fresh herbs and lemon zest. The creamy avocado balances the acidic flavors of the marinade. Definitely worth a try!

Ingredients (makes 4 servings).

For the Marinade:

1/4 c olive oil
2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1/2 t minced garlic
Grated zest of one large lemon
3 T fresh basil, chopped
1 T fresh mint, chopped
Sea salt and black pepper
Dash of red pepper

For the Salad:

1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 medium zucchini
1/2 medium light green squash
1 ripe avocado, seeded and cubed (how to find ripe avocados here)
4 c baby spinach
1 T olive oil
1/2 t minced garlic
2 lemon slices

Directions.

Preheat oven to 400° F. Cover baking sheet with aluminum foil.
In a medium bowl, mix together ingredients for the marinade. Add shrimp and toss until coated. Refrigerate for 30 min.
Place shrimp with marinade on baking sheet and evenly spread out. Bake for 7-9 min. or until shrimp are pink and cooked through. Be careful not to overcook!
Sauté garlic and olive oil. Once hot, add thinly sliced pieces of zucchini and green squash. Sauté until lightly browned. Add spinach and cook until spinach is wilted. Remove from heat.
Mix cooked shrimp with marinade from baking sheet with sautéed zucchini and spinach. Add ripe avocado cubes. Toss.
Top with fresh lemon juice from the lemon slices and enjoy!

NOTE: instead of serving “warm,” serve the shrimp, zucchini and avocado over chopped butter lettuce. The original recipe calls for the shrimp and zucchini to be grilled; the “salad” is served with a separate dressing. The original recipe can be found below.