Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Ole! Shrimp Taco Salad

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! In honor of this lively holiday, we wanted to post a recipe that you can prepare at home this evening if you decide to forego the crowded Mexican restaurants. Kinger and I invited our friend, Lisa, over last night for shrimp taco salads and Coronas. Lisa happens to be an amazing cook/fellow foodie and has her own blog with her fiance, Andy, so we were aiming to impress her. We also wanted to make a healthy dish - our calorie intake has increased significantly since we started AF, and we're trying to watch our figures in anticipation of bikini season.

We adapted the following recipe from one we saw in this month's issue of Cooking Light, substituting honey for maple syrup to sweeten the shrimp marinade/salad dressing and non-fat greek yogurt for light sour cream. We also grilled our shrimp on Fire & Flavor's Alder Grilling Planks rather than on metal skewers. You will be amazed by the intense, smoky flavor these planks add to the shrimp. It makes a huge difference! Fire & Flavor's founder, Gena Knox, recommends using alder rather than cedar for shrimp because it brings out the delicate flavor of the shellfish. The planks retail for $9.99 for a pack of two 15-inch planks, but Kingsley got a set for free simply by taking advantage of a deal that was advertised in the company's e-newsletter.



The ingredients for this dish came to about $30, and the recipe makes enough for six people. Since there were only three of us, we ended up with tons of leftovers. Pair the salad with ice cold Corona Lights with fresh lime slices. Here's the best part...each serving was a measly 228 calories (minus the beers). We guarantee you'll love this meal, and you won't feel like a total heifer after inhaling it!


Ole! Grilled Shrimp Taco Salad

Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. chipotle hot sauce
3/4 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 ears shucked corn
1 cup chopped romaine lettuce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 oz. baked blue corn tortilla chips (about 1 1/2 cups)
non-fat greek yogurt
1/4 cup diced peeled avocado
1 jar prepared salsa
1 container non-fat greek yogurt
Lime wedges (optional)

Directions

Soak two small cedar planks in warm water for at least 15 minutes.

Combine lime juice, olive oil, cumin, garlic, syrup, and hot sauce in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Place the shrimp in a shallow bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the lime juice mixture over shrimp, tossing gently to coat. Reserve the remaining lime juice mixture; set aside. Place chopped lettuce, green onions, cilantro, black beans and tomatoes in a large bowl; set aside.

Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Place shrimp on cedar planks. Once grill comes to temperature, place corn on grill. Grill about 10 minutes. Turn corn and add shrimp planks. Grill for 10 minutes or until shrimp are pink and firm. You do not need to turn the shrimp as they cook.

Remove shrimp and corn. Cut kernels from ears of corn. Add shrimp and corn kernels to bowl with lettuce and other ingredients. Drizzle reserved lime juice mixture over the salad, and toss gently to combine.

Divide tortilla chips evenly among shallow bowls; top each serving with salad. Serve with lime wedges on the side. Guests can top their salad with greek yogurt and salsa to taste.

5 comments:

  1. Do y'all reuse the planks over and over again?

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  2. This dish looks amazing and quite easy! I can't wait to try it out. I like the healthy substitutes. Gracias AF! Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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  3. Samma, you can reuse the planks after re-soaking them in water. We'd recommend reusing them only one time though.

    Elisha, the dish WAS super simple to put together - perfect for a weeknight meal.

    Thanks for your comments!

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  4. I can attest that this dish was delicious!
    Thanks for having me, AF. I will happily taste test any time you would like! :) I am sold on Alder planks, they really do bring out the best in shrimp. For more foodie reading, see below.

    http://nomtown.blogspot.com/

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  5. Oh yummy... can't wait for y'all to make that for me! ;)

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