Shrimp Fajita Salad with Avocado Cilantro Dressing
A little black dress and a cocktail party. A warm fire and a cold winter day. Some pairings just make sense, like this shrimp fajita salad with avocado cilantro dressing from Just Married by Caroline Chambers. The crunchy, flavor-packed salad and creamy, spicy dressing are great on their own, but together, they’re a magical combo.
Better yet, Chambers assures us it’s hard to mess up the dressing: “Use olive oil instead of yogurt to make this dressing dairy-free. Basil is a great substitute for the cilantro. Or use a mixture of cilantro, basil and parsley to make your own version of a green goddess dressing,” she says.
And if you’d rather eat a fajita for dinner, Chambers advises wrapping the salad in a tortilla and taking a big bite.
Ingredients
Taco Salad
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into narrow strips
1 yellow onion, cut into thin half-moons
3 cups packed chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup packed chopped kale
½ cup julienned jicama
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons Avocado Cilantro Dressing (recipe follows)
1 small mango, cubed
1 small avocado, thinly sliced
Avocado Cilantro Dressing
1 small avocado
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems
⅓ cup plain yogurt
1 large garlic clove
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red-pepper flakes
Juice of 2 limes
½ fresh jalapeño chili, seeded (optional)
Directions
1. Make the Shrimp: In a large bowl, mix together the chili powder, garlic powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat.
2. In a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, heat the grapeseed oil. Add the red bell pepper and onion,and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook until they look pink and opaque, about 3 minutes. Set aside.
3. Make the Avocado Cilantro Dressing: In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine the avocado, cilantro, yogurt, garlic, salt, black pepper, red-pepper flakes, lime juice, ½ cup water and the jalapeño, if using, and blend until smooth. If the dressing is too thick, add water 1 tablespoon at a time until you have the desired consistency, which is about the consistency of Caesar salad dressing.
4. In a large bowl, toss together the romaine, kale, jicama, cilantro and dressing. Divide the salad between two serving bowls. Top with the shrimp mixture, mango and avocado.
638 calories
26g fat
97g carbs
41g protein
33g sugars