spicy blackened shrimp and avocado greek salad

If there’s one type of relatively wholesome cuisine that tastes almost as good as more indulgent cuisines, it’s Mediterranean.

The other day J and I visited a brewpub and I, being as I am, ordered a Greek salad as my entree (after the massive pretzel I spoke of during this week’s Sidebar). Balance, you know? Usually when eating out and I’m not at a restaurant for a specific item, we share appetizers and if there’s a Greek salad on the menu, I’ll get it. Often with fries if that’s an option.

Some of my favorite local spots are Mediterranean in nature – by that, I mean Greek, Lebanese, or similar – and even if I wander over the Whole Foods for dinner I’ll often build a salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and slather it all in tzatziki and/or hummus. I’m never disappointed with the result. I think that cuisine constitutes all of my favorite crisp veggies in general, and honestly, I could subsist off of tzatziki. How the fuck is a yogurty cucumber sauce so damn good?!

I was a little stuck Monday morning when trying to scare up a recipe to test out. Sometimes my decisions come in the morning – hopefully before a day where I plan to grocery shop at Target or TJ’s or wherever – when I’m walking or running or sitting at the table browsing Pinterest and trying to get my brain to wake the fuck up.

That’s just how the creative process is sometimes: a whole lot of jumble before the strings tie themselves together into something tangible. I don’t mind enjoying a Greek salad two days in a row, especially when it’s as bright and cheerful as this one.

My classic spicy blackened shrimp highlights this incredible bowl, and a creamy Greek dressing ties it all together. We’re looking at fresh herbs, cucumber, briny olives, and rings of red onion, all the good shit in a solid pile of greens. Enjoy this with hot naan or a batch of salty fries, and you’ve got spring eating conquered.

Ermagerd, Shermp

I love this salad for its brevity: less than 30 minutes from start to finish. Most of the prep time is chopping and mixing, but once that’s all done you’re practically ready to serve.

Shrimp is one of the easiest proteins to deal with: if it’s frozen, all you need to do is pop the dudes in some cool water for about 10-15 minutes, and they’re good as gold. I always buy large or colossal for my projects – in this case, colossal, because it was on sale – and try to get it pre-peeled, but no biggie if it isn’t. That takes about five minutes to do anyway, so long as they’re already deveined.

Once your shrimpies are thawed, peeled, and deveined as needed, pat them very dry with paper towels. Toss with a seasoning blend of smoked paprika, oregano, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper.

Heat your skillet with some olive oil until it’s quite hot. Sear the shrimp for 2-3 minutes per side. I usually do two batches and drizzle a touch of oil in between if the skillet looks dry.

If you cooked multiple batches of shrimp, add it all back into the skillet once every last guy is cooked. Swirl in some butter and lemon zest until the butter turns a light golden brown. Maybe a minute or two more is all you need. Pull the shrimp out of the pan and chuck onto a plate or bowl.

I could go at the shrimp by itself easily. But, we’ve got more work to do, so keep your pants on, folks.

Romaine Gains

Next, whip up your Greek dressing. I combine whole milk Greek yogurt with vegan mayonnaise (you can use regular, too), garlic cloves, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, dried oregano, dried dill, dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust the s&p to your liking.

Lastly, all the choppy woppy-ing. I love romaine in this salad since it feels proper to me, as well as Persian cucumbers, kalamata olives, and red onions. You can slice the onions however you want but rings just felt right today. Toss those components together with the lettuce, as well as a big handful of fresh herbs, whatever shit’s lurking in your fridge. I always recommend dill either way. Dill is a good lurker.

Arrange the rest of your salad thereafter. Avocado, cubed or crumbled feta, and of course that lovely dressing on the side. If you’re serving right away, you can drizzle the bowl with some and let folks add more as they wish. If planning leftovers, keep it on the table in a bowl or jar for everyone to help themselves to.

I love a poofy slab of naan for scooping up the salad. Crispy fries are nice, too, or maybe even some orzo if you feel like turning this into a pasta salad.

Leftovers are wonderful. You can divvy up assembled salad portions into prep containers and get some little condiment cups for the dressing. Perfect work lunch or if you’re out and about and don’t want to grab food from a drive thru.

This is the shit, and your Tuesday deserves good shit. As does your final week of April in general. Yeehaw.

Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!

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