Coconut Crab and Shrimp Salad

Recipe: Coconut Crab and Shrimp Salad

This will be a quick post. This past weekend, my friends Jenni and Nancy joined me at the lake house for a few days and we (as always) cooked. And enjoyed each other's company tremendously! This coming weekend, 5 friends will be spending the weekend. Needless to say, I have done a lot of menu planning in the last 2 weeks! And I am not finished...



One of the absolute stellar recipes that Jenni and I made was Cooking Light's "Coconut Crab and Shrimp Salad".



Oh my, this was heavenly. Positively drool-worthy! Shrimp (I did not "coarsely chop" mine, but left them whole) and crab mixed with sweet corn, creamy avocado, pungent cilantro and dressed with a lemony mixture spiced a bit with the addition of jalapeno... then sprinkled with crunchy toasted coconut over crisp butter lettuce. It was incredible.


I apologize that the photo is a bit out of focus (looks like quite the hodge-podge of ingredients, doesn't it?). No food-styling time because I just wanted to get that fork in my hand and dig in.
Quick! Take the picture and eat!!!






Coconut Crab and Shrimp Salad



This fresh, colorful seafood salad also makes a terrific appetizer. For a spicier dish, add the jalapeño pepper seeds or use two peppers. Total time: 45 minutes.



1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed (about 2 ears)

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup diced peeled avocado

1/2 pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 cups torn Boston lettuce (about 3 small heads)

1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut, toasted



Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 4 minutes or until shrimp are done, turning once. Remove from the pan. Coarsely chop shrimp.


Combine corn and the next 5 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a medium bowl. Gently stir in the shrimp.



Combine juice, oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over shrimp mixture; toss gently to coat.



Divide lettuce among each of 4 plates; top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle evenly with toasted coconut.



Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups lettuce, about 1 cup salad, and 1 tablespoon coconut)



CALORIES 223 (34% from fat); FAT 8.5g (sat 2.2g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.3g); IRON 3mg; CHOLESTEROL 124mg; CALCIUM 94mg; CARBOHYDRATE 16g; SODIUM 613mg; PROTEIN 24g; FIBER 3g



Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

When Jenni suggested making this recipe during our weekend, I wondered why I hadn't seen it before (it does, of course, contain all of my favorite things). I then realized that, for some reason, Cooking Light had featured it in an October issue. I probably didn't even read the recipe since it so loudly screamed SUMMER and October in southwestern Pennsylvania is definitely Fall.

Try this. You will love, love, love it!