Colors of Shrimp Salad!

If you are a shrimp lover, then you will love this recipe. It is:

• Lean protein.
• Crunchy, colorful and yummy.
• Healthy and satisfying.
• Dairy free.
• Gluten free.
• Easy to make with commonly available ingredients.
• Best for a cozy meal at home.
  

  Colorful details of a delicious salad.

  

  Details of a salad! Up close and personal!

My seafood addiction needs to be known. It is an obsession. Where I live in Pennsylvania, I am far from fresh fish markets. I easily get tired of salmon and tilapia. And I sometime drive hours for getting some fresh seafood in my belly. I love shrimp. And anything that’s made with shrimp. I have been juicing strawberries, pineapple and blue berries for the last two weeks. With all the fresh summery fruits around, how can you not right?! And now I am kind of off that wagon and want some healthy summery protein! Shrimp in a buttery sauce or on a skewer sounds great! Something juicy and light. May be something sweet and savory. Creamy avocados? May be some nuts and fresh veggies in a shrimp salad ? That will be amazing!

I just described above, how my food brain works. I made this shrimp salad for my husband. He had a stressful day at work and called me to say he is hungry. This is a pretty normal thing in our household. I then run to the kitchen and whip up something. We usually stay home with our home cooked meals and call it an evening after a long day at work. I love cooking for him, something I really love to do. Serving any dish I prepared and being able to see his happy face with every bite, is something I live for.

Shrimp avocado salad dressing:

This recipe was made with lots of love. I tried so hard to bring the flavors together for a balanced recipe. Peanut butter in a dressing? Yes! nutty peanut butter with sweet honey, sour lemon juice and the umami of soy sauce made this dressing perfect for shrimp avocado salad. Finally when it was just perfect with the right amount of sweetness, saltiness, sourness, my husband was home.

I want some of this salad now!

Shrimp:

Really was in the mood for a  crunchy, something crunchy and fun. I wanted it to go well with the crunch of nuts, crispy fresh sweet peppers and creamy avocados. I seasoned the shrimp first and then coated it with corn starch and pan fried it. The corn starch forms crunchy outsides and seal in the moisture in the shrimp. And the shrimp is well seasoned inside the crispy crunchy exterior. This created a really awesome “OMG-I-cannot-stop-eating” shrimp recipe!

Salad:

I chose a simple spring mix for the salad body. I think a mix that include kale and spinach will work perfectly here. The dressing is not watery and is kind of thick so it needs salad leaves that can stand the weight. Also, the salad dressing needs the subtle bitterness of kale and spinach to offset the dressing’s flavor combo. Peanuts, avocados and sweet peppers along with the dressing created an incredible flavor union in this simple shrimp avocado salad.

Hope you enjoy this meal and please let me know what do you think of it. If you want another delicious meal check this out!

Can’t get enough of this!

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Shrimp Avocado Salad With Sweet Sour Dressing

Shrimp avocado salad, a wonderfully satisfying main course meal. Crunchy, sweet, sour and nutty. This colorful salad explodes with flavors and textures. At the same time, it brings together luscious greens, sweet peppers, scallions, peanuts and creamy avocados with a perfectly crafted dressing.

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American, Asian, Asian Inspired

Keyword avocado, salad, salad dressing, shrimp

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 517kcal

Ingredients

For the dressing:

• 4 Tbsp Peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 1 Juice of one whole lime.
• 1 1/2 Tsp Chopped ginger.

For the shrimp:

• 12 Oz Large shrimp (deveined,peeled)
• 1/3 Cup Corn starch
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1 Tsp Chilli powder ( or as much as your like!).
• 1 Tsp Garlich powder
• 3-4 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil.

For the salad:

• 1/2 Cup Chopped bell peppers (yellow, red and orange)
• 1 Large tomato chopped.
• 2-3 Sprigs Scallions chopped.
• 2-3 Tbsp Roasted peanuts for garnishing.
• 4 Servings of salad leaves mix of your choice.
• 1 Whole ripe avocado cubed.

Instructions

Dressing:

• Blend all the ingredients in a blender into a smooth emulsified dressing and set aside. Easy as that! 🙂
  

Shrimp:

• Preheat the oil on medium heat. Wash the shrimp and squeeze them gently to remove excess water. Mix in the dry seasonings, then set aside.
• In a bowl take cornstarch and dump your shrimp into the cornstarch. Mix the shrimp and cornstarch from the bottom up. Lifting up shrimp from the bottom and letting it tumble and mix in the cornstarch. This should coat the shrimp without any wet spots on the shrimp.
  
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Test if the oil is properly hot, before placing the shrimp (see notes). Place the shrimp quickly, cook the shrimp 1 - 1 1/2 mins per side ( See notes). If you see uncooked spots on the curved sides of large shrimp, use a tong to pick them up and place it in oil to cook them through. This rarely happens but it does at times. Set aside the cooked shrimps, to drain the oil on a paper towel lined plate.
  

Salad:

• Mix everything together except peanuts, shrimp and dressing. Then garnish it with peanuts. Pour on the delicious dressing and enjoy.
  

Notes

Notes:

1. Make sure the oil is hot before pan frying shrimp. This is very important for this recipe to work. Oil is hot when, it easily moves around in the pan. And the oil shimmers and glistens when it is properly heated. You can also test the oil by dropping in a tiny bit of cornstarch, if it sizzles, then the oil is ready.
2. Make sure to start flipping the shrimps you placed first, otherwise they will be overcooked.
3. In our household we eat a lot of avocados. May be a bit too many. But recommended portion of avocados is 1/3 of avocado per person.
4. The total calories of this recipe includes the calories the entire amount of dressing. That's a lot of dressing!. Please use as per your preferences.
5. Slightly bitter leaves like Kale and spinach mixed in with other salad leaves work best with this dressing.
   
   Nutrition Facts

   Shrimp Avocado Salad With Sweet Sour Dressing

   Amount Per Serving

   Calories 517 Calories from Fat 251

   % Daily Value*

   Fat 27.9g43%

   Saturated Fat 4.5g28%

   Cholesterol 122mg41%

   Sodium 1061mg46%

   Potassium 572mg16%

   Carbohydrates 49.3g16%

   Sugar 13.2g15%

   Protein 25.6g51%

   Vitamin A 23350IU467%

   Calcium 120mg12%

   Iron 8.1mg45%

   * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 517kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.3g | Protein: 25.6g | Fat: 27.9g | Saturated Fat: 4.5g | Cholesterol: 122mg | Sodium: 1061mg | Potassium: 572mg | Sugar: 13.2g | Vitamin A: 23350IU | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 8.1mg

The post Shrimp Avocado Salad With Sweet Sour Dressing. appeared first on Delish Buzz.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne is a light meal. Fresh parsley and cashew add zest to this simple meal.

But Before I start… My New Blog- Delish Buzz:

After long procrastination, I finally have a blog!! And I begin with a simple dish which is colorful and vegan, cashew pesto penne pasta. Also on a very scary note this is my first post!.  Eeeks!  I don’t know where this blogging journey will take me, but I am going to give this a try! 🙂 While the technical aspects of blogging were scary at first, with some help from our “Google mother”, I was able to get this far. I hope this is a journey forward through the wonderful world of foods. Because man! I love my food and I am inspired by great food photography. And let it be known that I love pasta!. Hence cashew pesto penne pasta was born.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta :

This dish came along after my recent late night cravings for something simple, yet delicious. A dish that will make you feel like, you just ate something unique!  You know that slow, steady cravings that creep up late at night? Instead of reaching for chocolates and drooling at YouTube food channels, I opted for cooking up something fast. I was in the mood for flavors and colors. For one thing, I didn’t want to feel like I swallowed a log late at night. May be some colorful, delicious pasta – fancy like pesto and then dream about it all night 🙂 So standing there, late night, staring into my refrigerator, hungry, I reached for peppers for this dish.

Colorful Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne is coming together.

A Bit Different From Traditional Pesto Recipes:

The word pesto always scared me because I consider it to be a fancy addition to my pasta dishes. Hence making it at home was an experiment that I was sure going to be a flop (because of not having expensive ingredient for pestos, pine nuts!)  but it turned out to be really delicious. Unexpected and flavorful.

Fresh parsley with cashew and garlic really creates an aroma rich creamy pesto. This pesto eliminates the need for any additional proteins with this vegan dish. Besides, cashew is a superhero in the world of nutrition, rich in minerals, healthy fats and plant based protein. Fresh parsley (I used the curly leaf type) adds a fresh kick of flavors to this. Even without the addition of any cheeses, this dish is creamy and hearty.

The higher ratio of cashew in this pesto compensates for the lack of cheese. The final pesto is very creamy and I couldn’t stop eating it raw! It was the perfect combo of creaminess and tanginess for me.

Update: After this recipe was posted, I made a detailed post for the pesto. If you would like to know more tips and details, check here.

Delicious creamy vegan pesto.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne is bursting with colors.

Colorful and creamy.

Final Touches:

Eating raw peppers is not something I enjoy even in my salads ( roasted peppers on the other hand is to die for!) so I made sure that I added the peppers first, allowing more cooking time.  In the first place, peppers are expensive where I live. But I got this batch of peppers for a steal of a deal. Though I wasn’t sure what I will be using them for , I grabbed them impulsively like I do with any food these days ha-hah! I used two different colors of peppers and green peas here, to make this dish pop with colors. The sight of cooking this up itself was very yummy.

Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta is easy to make and is very satisfying.

The incredible smell of caramelizing peppers and onions filled the house when I was making this. Finally, adding a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper and some chopped parsley or basil to garnish elevated this pasta to a whole new level. I thoroughly enjoyed this wholesome meal without all the additional calories (not to mention dairy free!)

This creamy protein rich cashew pesto was just what I needed. I hope you enjoy making vegan cashew pesto penne pasta and please leave comments letting me know how, you have liked this simple dish. Happy cooking!

 Notes:

• I also made this same pesto with walnuts. While walnut pesto is also really tasty, cashews really add a creaminess and smoothness and that cannot be beat in this simple dairy free delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne pasta.
• The pesto when it is made, is not very thick but it thickens up FAST with some heat, so make sure to add some water when needed (more details in the recipe.)
• The juice of lemon is optional but I love my pesto a bit tangy.

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Simple Delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta

A simple colorful dish which is easy to prepare. The pesto is fresh and aromatic. The peppery veggie mix combine well with the pesto and create a delicious vegan dish.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword colorful pasta dish, pesto, vegan, veggie pasta

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Calories 647kcal

Ingredients

For the pesto:

• 1/2 bunch curly leaf parsley.
• 1/2 cup Raw cashews.
• 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil.
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Freshly ground pepper.
• Juice of one whole lemon (optional).

For the pasta:

• 2 cups Dried penne pasta cooked.
• 1 Yellow pepper chopped.
• 1 Red pepper chopped.
• 1/4 cup Chopped onion.
• 2-3 Chopped cloves of garlic.
• 1/2 tsp Salt (or season it to your needs.)
• 1/4 cup Water, if the pesto is too thick.
• 1 tsp Freshly ground pepper
• Chopped parsley or basil for garnishing.
• 4-6 tbsp Pesto

Instructions

For the pesto:

• Add all the ingredients to a blender and blend it until smooth creamy and bright green. Taste and adjust seasoning.

For the pasta:

• Cook pasta according to its package instructions. For this dish I cooked penne till it was "al dente" ( for about 9-10mins). Drain and keep it aside.
  
• Heat two table spoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat. Add chopped onions and garlic. After a minute or so, add the chopped peppers. Let the peppers cook until its raw flavor is gone (About five minutes and stir it to avoid uneven cooking).
• Add a cup of frozen green peas to the peppers and let it cook for 3-4 minutes. Then add cooked penne and pesto to the pan. Season it with freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Stir constantly, so that pesto coat penne and allow the pesto to cook with the delicious veggie mix (It is important to cook the pesto thoroughly so you won't taste the raw garlic.). Add 1/4 cup of water if you think the pesto is too thick at the end and let the sauce reduce to the desired consistency. Enjoy and let me know how you liked the recipe.

Notes

 Notes:

1. I also made this same pesto with walnuts. While walnut pesto is also really tasty, cashews really add a creaminess and smoothness and that cannot be beat in this simple dairy free delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne.
2. The pesto when it is made, is not very thick but it thickens up FAST with some heat, so make sure to add some water when needed (more details in the recipe.)
3. The juice of lemon is optional but I love my pesto a bit tangy.

Nutrition Facts

Simple Delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta

Amount Per Serving

Calories 647 Calories from Fat 382

% Daily Value*

Fat 42.4g65%

Saturated Fat 6.5g41%

Cholesterol 4mg1%

Sodium 450mg20%

Potassium 750mg21%

Carbohydrates 56.5g19%

Fiber 8.3g35%

Sugar 6.6g7%

Protein 17.2g34%

Calcium 1840mg184%

Iron 1.4mg8%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Calories: 647kcal | Carbohydrates: 56.5g | Protein: 17.2g | Fat: 42.4g | Saturated Fat: 6.5g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 450mg | Potassium: 750mg | Fiber: 8.3g | Sugar: 6.6g | Calcium: 1840mg | Iron: 1.4mg

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The post Simple Delicious Vegan Cashew Pesto Penne Pasta appeared first on Delish Buzz.