Saturday, October 17, 2009

Green Salad with Shrimp


The breeze coming through the doorway is heavenly right now. Thank goodness for fall and temperatures finally dropping in Phoenix. The table at the Historical League meeting is decorated with harvest and halloween to help us get into the spirit of the season.

This salad sounded so delicious probably because I love marinated shrimp and avocados so I decided to make it for the League meeting.

Green Salad with Shrimp page 174 Tastes & Treasures Cookbook
2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup cottage cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons white vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 or 3 avocados, sliced
2 pounds small shrimp, cooked and peeled
1 bunch spinach, trimmed
1 head romaine, trimmed and leaves separated
1 head iceberg lettuce, trimmed and leaves separated
1 pound bacon, crisp-cooked and crumbled

Combine the oil, cottage cheese, onion, vinegar, lemon juice, garlic, peppercorns and cayenne pepper in a blender or food processor and process until mixed. Combine the cottage cheese mixture, avocados and shrimp in a bowl and mix gently. Chill, covered, for 8 to 10 hours. Rinse the spinach, romaine and iceberg lettuce and wrap in damp clean kitchen towels. Chill for 8 to 10 hours.
Tear the greens into bite-size pieces. Combine the greens and the shrimp mixture in a salad bowl and mix gently. Sprinkle with the bacon and serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10

Note: This is too much oil for my taste so recommend cutting it in 1/2. I also pureed the cottage cheese mixture for a l-o-n-g time but it still separated when I poured it on the lettuce. Not a pretty picture. This salad tasted great but not the best looking presentation. Too bad.