I have always enjoyed a salad niçoise and make various versions of it for lunch each week. While on our beach vacation this month, we couldn’t get enough seafood. For real. We ate seafood for at least one meal a day–sometimes twice with a lunch out and dinner cooked back at our condo with seafood from the local fish market. While at the Gulf, I decided to cook a couple of meals with freshly caught Gulf shrimp. After a heavier meal of fried fish for lunch (so good!), I wanted a main course salad for dinner and experimented with a niçoise salad using shrimp instead of the more traditional tuna.
I am usually such a planner when it comes to our meals, but since I was in vacation mode, we had fun strolling to the market and picking out whatever fish looked most appealing. Then, we went home to create! Since I did not have all the traditional salad niçoise ingredients on hand, you will see this is a “take” on a niçoise and not a by-the-book replica.
I had hoped to cook this meal in time to take a lovely picture with the beach as my setting, It was deliciousness none the less, and enjoyed with three of my favorite things: my husband, the sound of waves crashing in the background, and a glass of my favorite rosé!
Shrimp Salad "Niçoise"
Ingredients
- 16 or more medium shrimp (peeled and de-veined, tails left on)
- Romaine Butter lettuce would have been my preference
- 1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley chopped
- 1 1/2 cups green beans
- 1/2 lb baby potatoes I used a mix of colors
- 1/2 red pepper julienned
- 1/2-1 avocado sliced
- 1/2 cup Niçoise olives I used Kalamata
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- Crumbled feta optional
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 garlic clove crushed
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard I used stone ground
- 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Juice of 1/2 a lemon reserve the other half of lemon
- 1 dash cayenne
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Combine ingredients for vinaigrette by shaking in a small jar or whisking in a bowl. Set aside.
- Par-boil the potatoes, cool, and halve or quarter depending on your preference.
- Sauté the potatoes in a bit of olive oil until slightly browned. Set aside.
- Blanch the green beans, drain, and set aside.
- Chop the red pepper, parsley, and avocado.
- Wash and tear enough lettuce to cover two plates.
- In a Tablespoon of melted butter, sauté the shrimp until pink (do not overcook).
- Arranged potatoes, green beans, red pepper, avocado, parsley, and shrimp.
- Dress with vinaigrette, another squeeze of lemon, and crumbled feta.
