Hello Summer Salad (I know I am late to the party)! Hello to you too! 😉
I love summer salads as they’re packed with baby lettuce (you can also use fresh baby spinach), buttery avocado, green onions, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes. Moreover, this summer salad served with couscous and spicy shrimps calls for a perfect fast-to-make dinner (10 minutes to get it done) – light enough not to knock you down quickly, but spiced enough to awaken your appetite and so much more. 😉
To keep it simple, healthy, and delicious, I only added olive oil and lime juice (or lemon juice). I also used cherry tomatoes as I’ve already had them in the fridge, but you can easily use fresh tomatoes that are still in season. That fresh sweet taste!
Healthy tip: When it comes to salad dressings, the best (healthy) way is to make your own at home. Most store-bought dressings are made with cheap refined vegetable oils (e.g. soybean oil), added sugar (e.g. high-fructose corn syrup), artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, and so on. Therefore, my favorite homemade salad dressings are vinaigrettes, which are simply a combination of oil and lime/lemon juice or vinegar. When choosing an oil, the following would be good choices for a homemade salad dressing (preferably extra virgin, cold-pressed): olive oil, avocado oil, nuts oils (e.g. walnut) and sesame oil.
Now back to the recipe, the delicate sweetness of the shrimps is enhanced by a citrusy marinade, which is a foolproof combination of lime juice, soy sauce, and mustard that could also double as the salad dressing if you want.
Super simple, easy-to-follow recipe, HEALTHY and delicious prepared with a few ingredients. Plus, no cooking skills required and ready in about 10 minutes. Don’t waste the rest of your night in the kitchen! 😉
- – 500 gr ( about 1 lb) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
- – 2 cups of baby lettuce (fresh baby spinach works too)
- – 200 g of couscous
- – 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
- – 2 medium onion, chopped (1 for shrimps, 1 for salad)
- – 2 green onions, chopped
- – 1 medium avocado, pitted and diced
- – 1 small cucumber, chopped
- – 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- – 1 tablespoons lime juice (from 1/2 lime)
- – sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Marinade Ingredients:
- – 1 tablespoons lime juice (from 1/2 lime)
- – 2 tablespoon soy sauce (low in sodium version)
- – 1 tablespoon mustard
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- First things first, marinate the shrimps. Place them in a plastic box and start spicing them up with lime juice, soy sauce, mustard, sea salt, cayenne pepper and chili or chili flakes. Set aside (you could also try to cover the box and place it in the fridge for a few hours).
- Next in a small saucepan stir couscous into boiling water and return water to a boil. Cover and remove the saucepan from heat. Let it stand a couple of minutes and then stir it with a fork. Set aside to cool. The proportion is 1:1 (1 parts of water for 1 part of couscous).
- Then heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and add one chopped onion and marinated shrimps. Let them simmer, stirring occasionally, for maximum 10 minutes, until the shrimps turn deeply golden and crispy.
- While the shrimps are cooking, prepare the salad. Combine baby lettuce, cherry tomatoes, avocado, cucumber, green onions, onions and couscous in a bowl. Toss with olive oil and lime juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Et Voila, ready to be served!
Did you make this recipe? Then tag #cookitfit on your favorite social media channels. I’d love to see! 🙂
Stay healthy & be happy!
Xoxo Cris
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