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Grilled Shrimp Salad with Twisted bacon and Avocado

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5 from 1 review

This grilled shrimp salad with twisted bacon, corn, tomatoes and avocado makes for the perfect summer entertaining salad. It can largely be made ahead and assembled just before you serve.

Ingredients

Scale

For the shrimp:

  • 1 1/4 pounds very large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used 6 – 8 count but you can use smaller shrimp)
  • 1/2 t baking soda
  • 1/2 t kosher salt
  • Bamboo skewers

For the bacon:

  • 12 slices thick cut bacon
  • Smoked paprika (optional)
  • Montreal seasoning (optional)
  • Black pepper

For the corn and asparagus:

  • 2 ears corn, shucked
  • 3/4 pounds asparagus, trimmed
  • 1 T olive oil

For the dressing:

  • 1 medium shallot, peeled and cut into quarters.
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • Zest from 1 lime and 1 T fresh lime juice
  • 1/4 c rice vinegar
  • 3/4 cup good quality virgin olive oil
  • 1 large handful cilantro, washed including stems
  • Kosher salt
  • Fresh ground pepper
  • Dried red pepper flakes

For the salad:

  • 4 large heads Little Gem salad, washed, dried and chilled
  • 1 avocado, peeled and sliced
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes

Instructions

For the shrimp: 

  1. The night before, soak your bamboo skewers in a pan of water.
  2. In a small bowl toss the shrimp with baking soda and salt to coat. Double thread the shrimp on the skewers, alternating head and tail and stacking them tightly. Place over a baking pan so that the shrimp are suspended in the air. (See photo in headnotes.) Put the pan of skewered shrimp in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
  3. Over medium high grill, grill the shrimp until they are pink, no longer translucent and grill marks begin to appear. Do not over cook or shrimp will be tough. Remove from skewers and toss with 5 – 6 T of dressing. Set aside.

For the bacon: 

  1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Twist each piece of bacon and lay twisted bacon strips side-by-side on pan. If desired, season with smoked paprika, Montreal seasoning and black pepper. 
  2. Cooking time will depend on the thickness of your bacon. Check after 10 minutes and then every 2 – 3 minutes after. Thin bacon may be done in 10-12 minutes. Extra thick bacon may take more than 20 minutes to cook and may require turning part way through. 

For the corn and asparagus:

  1. Grill the corn and asparagus at the same time that you grill the shrimp. If your grill can’t accommodate everything at once, grill the shrimp first and then the vegetables. That way you can toss the shrimp in the dressing while the corn and asparagus cook so the shrimp has more time to absorb the marinade flavors.  
  2. Grill the corn until it has nice grill marks, about 10 minutes. Remove, let cool and slice off kernels and set aside. 
  3. Toss the asparagus in a tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until there are grill marks on all sides, remove and set aside.

For the salad dressing:

  1. Put shallots and garlic in a food processor and whirl until finely chopped. Add lime zest, lime juice, rice vinegar, olive oil and cilantro and whirl to combine. Set aside.

To assemble the salad:

  1. Spread the lettuce over a large flat platter or shallow bowl and scatter the corn kernels, avocado and cherry tomatoes over the lettuce.
  2. Lay the grilled shrimp down the middle of the platter and place the cooked bacon twists and asparagus spears around the edges of the platter. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

 

 

 

Notes

I have made the dressing with basil and with cilantro. Both work well. 

Find it online: https://somethingnewfordinner.com/recipe/grilled-shrimp-salad-with-twisted-bacon-avocado/

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