Health-Pho Summer Shrimp Salad with Light Mandarin Dressing

This recipe was a winning dish for our 2021 Healthy Chef Challenge. Angie Montroy of Angie's Pantry in Oak Park used ingredients commonly found in our pantry and created an inspiring summer salad.

Yield

4 Servings

Preparation time

30 minutes

Ingredients

1 head romaine lettuce

1 cucumber (seeded cut into strips)

1 red bell pepper (seeded cut into strips)

1 C shredded carrot

1/2 C fresh cilantro (stems removed, washed and spun)

1/2 C green onions (washed and thinly sliced )

5 collard greens (5 fresh leaves, washed and chiffonade)

2 oz rice noodles (hydrate according to package directions and drain well)

1 C brown rice (cooked)

20 shrimp (peeled and deveined)

2 tsp canola oil

1 tsp red Thai chili paste

1/4 C great northern beans (for salad dressing)

1/4 C rice wine vinegar (for salad dressing)

1/2 C mandarin oranges (for salad dressing/canned drained)

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (for salad dressing)

3 Tbsp sweet Thai chili sauce (for salad dressing)

2 Tbsp canola oil (for salad dressing)

Instructions

Garnish:Sprinkle salads with toasted sesame seeds & extra fresh cilantro. Optional.

1. Prep salad ingredients through green onion. Refrigerate until you're ready to assemble.

2. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt and 2 t. cider vinegar. Blanch collard greens for 2 minutes & drain. Plunge into an ice bath to quickly cool the greens and retain the bright green color. Drain well and spin in salad spinner to remove extra water. Gently mix with the hydrated rice noodles. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble.

3. Heat a non-stick skillet and add 2 teaspoons of canola oil. Cook the shrimp in the hot skillet for 3-4 minutes, until the shrimp has turned totally pink. Remove from heat and add the red chili paste to the shrimp, stir to coat. Cool completely.

4. Add all salad dressing ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Assemble your salad. Divide the romaine among 4 salad plates. Divide the rest of the salad ingredients among the 4 plates. Top each salad with 5 shrimp and serve the dressing on the side.

6. Enjoy!

*Substitute chicken for shrimp if cooking to accommodate a shellfish allergy.

Source

Angie Montroy of Angie's Pantry Inc. Visit angiespantry.com for information on meal services and catering.