Lucky 7 Shrimp Salad

The kitchen spirits were kind and this experiment yielded delicious results that were light in calories as well as light on the palate. Lucky 7 Shrimp Salad is a wonderful combination of roasted, Asian kissed shrimp dancing on a colorful background of baby greens. The baby greens are lightly seasoned with an emulsified apple vinaigrette. This vinaigrette, which is sweetened with clover honey, is slightly tart and is a great companion for the roasted shrimp.

One of the best things about this salad is that it was created thanks to a surplus of leftover cooked shrimp. This can be a touchy situation because the shrimp needed to be roasted, but not for a long period of time or they would have been too tough to chew. A scant 2-3 minutes did the trick. Uncooked shrimp may be used in this recipe, simply adjust the cooking time to 7-8 minutes. Flip the shrimp once during cooking.

For this recipe, you'll need:

• 28 Asian Kissed Shrimp
• Emulsified Apple Dressing
• Baby greens a.k.a. "Mesclun Mix"
• Toasted Sesame Seeds

Recipes & assembly instructions are below.

For this yummy vinaigrette, you will need:

• 1 medium apple, 6-8 ounces
• 2 Tbsps. minced shallot or 1 garlic clove a chunk of white onion (1/2-1 oz.)
• 1/4 cup of oil-canola, olive, vegetable, or combo
• 2-3 ounces cider vinegar
• 1-2 Tbsp. honey
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• water as needed

1. Place vinegar & shallots in blender, mix on high until well-blended with no visible pieces of shallots.
2. Add salt, pepper, Dijon mustard & honey, pulse for a few seconds.
3. Slice apple into 1/2 inch slices that will fit into blender. Remove seeds & core, but leave skin intact. Blend until apple is unrecognizable as an apple.
4. While blender is running, slowly stream oil into the mixture.
5. Adjust seasonings. Add a little water if needed, one tablespoon at a time, blending well after each addition. *Note: I ended up adding about two tablespoons of water while adjusting. It's really going to depend on your personal palate.
6. Chill until needed.

The next thing you need to do is prepare the shrimp. If you'd like to prepare the shrimp first, you can do that, since they need to marinate for a bit. The dressing also needs time for the elements to marry, so make either one first. You can also make the dressing the day before you make this dish so that it can be refrigerated overnight. Like many dishes, it tastes better the next day.

• 28 cooked shrimp-peeled & deveined
• 1/8 cup of sesame oil
• 1/8 cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1/8 cup of ginger syrup
• 2 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• salt & pepper, to taste
• Cooking oil spray

1. Place shrimp in a bowl or a shallow pan.
2. Whisk the rest of the ingredients together until combined, pour over shrimp.
3. Marinate for 15-20 minutes. Use a spoon or spatula to toss the shrimp a few times while marinating.
4. Set oven to broil.
5. Spray a shallow roasting pan or broiler pan with cooking oil spray. Spread shrimp out into one layer. Reserve remainder of marinade for basting.
6. Broil for about a minute and a half at 5-6 inches from heat source. Flip shrimp and baste with more marinade. Broil another minute and a half.
7. Remove from oven.

Assemble prepared ingredients:

• 4-6 cups of baby greens
• Emulsified Apple Dressing
• 28 shrimp
• Toasted sesame seeds

1. Place greens in a bowl, Drizzle with 2-3 Tbsps. dressing. Toss until coated. Add a little more if needed, one tablespoon at a time. You want the greens coated, but not drowning.
2. For service of four: assemble four plates and place about a cup and a half of greens onto plates.
3. Arrange shrimp on top any way you like. Serve seven shrimp to each person for good luck.
4. Garnish each salad with toasted sesame seeds.
5. Serve and enjoy!