Shrimp are not only delicious, they are high in protein and low in fat. A natural choice for healthy meals that don’t weigh you down.
This shrimp salad with mayo is amazing for lunch, dinners, or parties where you really want to go all out. The dressing is very light and let the shrimp retain their tender texture.
Ingredients
- 1 kilogram of extra large shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice from 2 to 3 lemons, squeezed halves reserved
- 5 sprigs fresh dill
- 5 sprigs fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoons sea salt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1 small shallot, chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoons fresh dill, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
- Place shrimp in a medium saucepan with cold water, lemon juice, lemon halves, dill sprigs, parsley, sugar, whole black pepper and sea salt.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the shrimp are pink and firm to the touch, about 7 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat, cover and let the shrimp sit in the broth for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, fill a medium bowl with ice water. Drain shrimp and discard lemon halves, herbs and spices.
- Immediately immerse shrimp in ice water until cool, about 3 minutes. Remove from ice water and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the shrimp in half lengthwise and then in thirds.
- To make the salad, whisk together the mayonnaise, celery, shallot, lemon juice, dill and parsley in a medium bowl. Add the shrimp and toss well to combine.
- Season your shrimp salad with mayonnaise with salt and pepper (we recommend ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper).
Tips
- First you need to poach the shrimp. This cooking method is gentler than submerging the shrimp in boiling water; start with cold water and medium heat. If you wish, you can peel and devein the shrimp after cooking; this keeps the tasty shells in the cooking water.
- Use a low-fat mayonnaise if you want to reduce the fat even more for a healthy shrimp salad.
- Consider buying shrimp in the shell and peeling and cleaning them yourself. You’ll have a delicious salad, with a little extra work.
