Shrimp and avocado salad with lime vinaigrette
Cool shrimp, creamy avocado and sweet corn tossed in a zippy lime dressing you shake in a jar, with no stove required.
- 15 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $7.90 a serving
- 650 calories
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 15 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 12 oz cooked shrimp, peeled, tails off, thawed if frozen
- 1 cucumber
- 1 avocado, ripe
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- ¼ red onion
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
From your pantry
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 650 calories, 47 g protein, 40 g carbs and 38 g fat, and costs about $7.90 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No limes? Lemons work.
- No honey? Maple syrup works.
- No frozen corn? Canned corn works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
- No avocados? Guacamole works.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.
- No romaine lettuce? Green leaf lettuce or iceberg lettuce or butter lettuce works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Squeeze the lime juice into a jar with a lid, then add the olive oil, honey, garlic and salt.
Screw on the lid and shake hard for 15 seconds, until the dressing looks creamy and blended.
Dolly’s tip: Two parts oil to one part lime, plus salt, is the formula for almost any dressing. The honey softens the sour edge.Taste it on a piece of lettuce and add more salt if it tastes sharp.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
the corn in a strainer under warm water for about a minute to thaw it, then shake it dry.
Rinse. Rinsing means running cold water over rice or canned beans in a strainer while you swish them around. It washes off loose starch and can liquid, so rice cooks up fluffy and beans taste clean.
How you’ll know: The water running out goes from cloudy to mostly clear; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
the shrimp dry, cut any big ones in half, and put them in a large bowl.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
the cucumber and avocado, the tomatoes, and the red onion.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Halve. Halving means cutting something into two equal pieces. Even halves cook at the same speed, so one doesn’t dry out while the other finishes.
How you’ll know: The two pieces look like mirror images of each other.
Finely chop. Finely chopping means cutting food into small pieces, a little bigger than minced, about the size of a lentil. Small pieces spread their flavor through the dish and cook quickly.
How you’ll know: Nothing is bigger than a lentil, and the pile looks like confetti rather than paste.
Add the vegetables, corn and cilantro to the shrimp, pour over most of the dressing, and gently.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Pile the romaine onto two plates, spoon the salad on top, and with the last of the dressing.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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