Barry says: Whether you've spent the day on the water, in the garden or bicycling through the park, a cool seafood salad is a tasty way to wind down a hot summer day.
I was lucky enough to have spent Memorial Day in the pool. Sounds lovely doesn't it? When I say in the pool, I mean in the pool. I spent the day removing tadpoles and soup-green water from our pool while Kelley prepared this delicious seafood salad. Why, yes, I will have some cheese with my whine, thank you.
Anyway, the important thing here is that this salad is really good.
Kelley says: OK, it's hot. When the weather gets this way, it's time to eat less and lighter. All I want is the water bottle or maybe an iced coffee in the morning. This recipe was inspired by the heat, but I also found some items at the Chattanooga Market on Sunday that I thought would work with this dish. Fresh hydroponically grown lettuces, purple scallions and hot-house tomatoes were the basis for this salad.
I steamed shrimp from a local grocer and added fresh herbs and spices. I also added surimi to stretch the pot a bit. You could use crab meat, but the surimi is not bad and a lot less expensive. This is a filling lunch or dinner entree accompanied by a chilled glass of pinot grigio while sitting outside among the cicadas.
Hmmm, what do you think we could do with those loud little bugs? By the way, we missed the boat on those tadpoles. We could have had some great frog legs this fall.
Barry says: Don't think I didn't think about frog legs the whole time.
For me, the salad was all the better because of the olives and capers. The homemade spicy pickle was also a great complement.
Seafood Salad
1 pound cooked shrimp
5 ounces surimi, sliced
1 large chopped tomato
1 stalk diced fresh celery
1/2 cup diced fresh green bell pepper
2 sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped green olives
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
2 tablespoons capers
Ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 tablespoon hot Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
2 tablespoon fresh dill
Lemon zest, to taste
Dash of Tabasco
Salt to taste
Chop the shrimp and surimi, and add to all remaining ingredients. Chill until ready to plate. Place on a serving of lettuces, with tomato, lemon and lime wedges. Serve with crackers.
COURTERS' KITCHEN
This monthly cooking series features husband and wife team Barry and Kelley Courter.