10 Minute Summer Salad

I love new recipes, and don't mind spending time on them, but what really makes me happy is if I can figure out a way to throw something together that is tasty, nutritious, and aesthetically appealing in about 10 minutes.

Today's beautiful summer weather (Real Summer, not SF Summer) made me crave a salad - something satifying, interesting, citrusy, and not too fussy. I started Googling ingredients that sounded good to me - grapefruit, avocado, salad - and found this recipe on msn.com. When I went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients, my butcher asked me if I wanted cooked shrimp or raw shrimp. Aha moment! I decided to use cooked shrimp and save myself a little time, and also put away some for another day.

The recipe allowed me to use a new time-saving device that I had picked up recently - a "Grapefruiter" by Chef'n, which worked OK - I didn't get very pretty 0r large sections of grapefruit, but I was done in about a minute so it was worth it. For company, I'd hand-section them. My Mexican citrus squeezer also came in handy - a must-have if you love Margaritas (doesn't that sound tasty....)

The result was delicious! Perfectly balanced ingredients, and truly lovely to look at. And now that I have made it once, I know that I can make it again without ever having to look at the recipe, because exact measurements aren't necessary. I halved the recipe to make it the correct portion for one, but it would be easy to go up or down as needed, and I mostly eyeballed everything.

Shrimp, Grapefruit and Avocado Salad

• 8 medium shrimp, cooked
• 2 t. fresh lime juice
• 1/8 C. extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 t. sea salt
• 1/8 t. crushed red pepper
• 1/2 large pink grapefruit
• 1/2 t. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 head butter lettuce
• 1/4 C. arugula
• 1/2 avocado, peeled and cubed

- Toss shrimp with 1 t. lime juice, 1/2 t. olive oil, 1/8 t. salt, and red pepper. Lightly saute in a pan for about 3 min, leave to marinate while you prepare the other ingredients.
- Segment the grapefruit, reserving the juice.
- Whisk together grapefruit juice, Dijon mustard, remaining salt, remaining lime juice. Whisk in 2 t. olive oil. (I also stirred in a little of the marinade from the shrimp).
- Place butter lettuce and arugula in a bowl.
- Arrange shrimp, grapefruit, and avocado on top of lettuce.
- Drizzle grapefruit vinaigrette on top.

Serves one as a main course, two as a side salad.



Happy Summer!