A perk to being single and living alone? (small correction, I do have a new roommate) Eating all the shrimp from the leftover salad without being called out for such a heinous act. It ranks right up there with drinking straight from the milk carton/2 liter of Diet Coke/tonic water/club soda and digging out all the cookie dough bits/smashed Oreos/brownie bits/fudge swirl from the tub of ice cream. Did you mistake me for a lady?
Let’s talk salad before I start thinking to deeply about ice cream because that always leads down a rabbit hole where I start talking about my all time favorite(s) or pros and cons of soft serve and hard scoop or how I LOVE sugar cones vs cake cones but how the final bite of a cake cone where the ice cream has melted into the square grid that is the base of a cake cone is quite like heaven… and before it’s all said and done, a sensible dinner of bean salad with shrimp morphs into a DQ Blizzard with Butterfinger and M&Ms.
Salad. Stay focused.
Shrimp and beans all tossed and well coated in a chive mint oil which surprised the socks off of me as I prefer my mint smashed into my bourbon and not my salads…but what do I know? Very little, come to find out. No mint? Substitute with basil – it won’t disappoint, promise.
And this meal comes together within minutes (not counting the time to haul down the blender and to find all of its parts…where do they go?!? – a mini food processor would be handy here!) – the shrimp broil within minutes and the green beans are blanched just as quickly. Toss everything with cannelloni beans, chive mint oil, and a squeeze of fresh lemon and BOOM! Dinner.
Piled high upon a bit of mixed salad greens, a cold beer, and the hopes of a trip to the local ice cream joint…and life is grand.
Ok, now that we had salad…how about that ice cream?
- Dressing
- 25 mint leaves (or basil leaves)
- 1/4 cup chopped chives leaves
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 5 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- Salad
- 15 ounce can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained well
- 1 lb green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 to 1+1/2 lb extra large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- mixed salad greens – optional
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add mint leaves and blanch for about 20 seconds. Drain and add to a food processor or blender. If using basil leaves you can skip the blanching step. Add chives to mint in food processor and process until a smooth puree. With food processor on, slowly add olive oil and lemon juice, scrape down the sides and continue to process until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes. They should be cooked but have a bit of crunch left in them. Drain well and place in a large serving bowl.
- Meanwhile, heat broiler and place oven rack in top third of oven – about 5 inches from heat.
- Place shrimp on a baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, minced garlic, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat well and spread shrimp out in an even layer. Broil shrimp for about 1 to 1+1/2 minutes per side until they are pink and just firm to the touch. Remove from oven and add to the bowl with the green beans.
- Add drained cannelloni beans to bowl with green beans and shrimp. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice if necessary.
- If serving with mixed salad greens, toss salad greens with a tablespoon of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Place salad greens on plate and top with a heaping mound of beans and shrimp. Serve warm or chilled. With or without salad greens. I honestly have forgone the salad greens and enjoy chilled. You have options.
- Store covered in fridge.
Fork Vs Spoon 