Arugula Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Fennel

This recipe is adapted from The Mediterranean Method book

This is a wonderful salad for lunch or dinner, easy to prepare and super flavorful. The kind of shrimp you use matters, though. Shrimp caught with trawlers effectively rake the bottom of the sea and are very destructive. By contrast, the Mediterranean Sea is dotted with shrimp pots, which is an environmentally friendly way to harvest them. Even outside of Europe, you can now often find pot-harvested wild shrimp in grocery stores or online.  Wherever you get them, look for a “Sustainable Fisheries Partnership” logo to ensure they were collected in a sustainable way.

COOK’S TIP:

Almost all shrimp are either frozen raw or cooked and then frozen. When you buy them in the store, they are typically sold frozen or thawed, and the thawed shrimp may have been thawed for several days and their flavor worsens over time. Best is to buy your shrimp frozen and thaw them yourself.

If you are lucky enough to find freshly caught whole shrimp (with the heads), you’ll need to buy 1.5 pounds with shell and heads, then marinate and grill the shrimp shells intact and serve whole.

Defrosting Time: 10 Minutes

Prep Time: 20-25 Minutes

Marinating: 10 Minutes

Serves: Two

Ingredients:

¾ pound large frozen shrimp, soak in a large bowl with tap water, remove shells, devein, drain and pat dry with paper towels

3 tablespoons avocado oil

2 medium garlic cloves, diced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

½ teaspoon sea salt (divided)

½ teaspoon ground paprika

1 medium-large fennel bulb, trim away root base and stems, discard any unsightly outer later, and slice lengthwise into ¾-inch wedges

1 orange, peeled and segments separated (best is to peel and wedge with a knife)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 cups arugula greens

2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted (or chopped pistachios or almonds)

Directions:

Defrost frozen shrimp, drain, and pat dry.

In a bowl, marinate shrimp, avocado oil, garlic, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, paprika, and fennel wedges.

Preheat the grill or broiler to medium-high heat.

Meanwhile, in a salad bowl, combine olive oil, remaining ¼ salt, and juice from the more broken 1-2 orange segments adding 1 ½ tablespoons of orange juice, and whisk together.

With a slotted spoon, scoop out shrimp and fennel from marinade; discard marinade. Grill first the fennel slices for about 3-4 minutes per side, and when the first fennel side is cooked, add shrimp and grill for about 2-3 minutes per side, until shrimp are pink and curled but not overcooked.

Heat a small sauté pan to medium heat and toast pine nuts for 1-2 minutes, until warm and fragrant. Remove from heat before they brown or burn.

Toss arugula with fennel and vinaigrette in salad bowl. Add shrimp on top, garnish with toasted pine nuts, and serve.

Enjoy,

Steven Masley, MD