Here is a perfect salad for a hot summer day. It functions as a complete meal or as a side.
It’d probably be way better if you got fresh shrimp, but I live in Ottawa, where seafood sucks or is way too expensive; I settle for the sucks, so I used frozen.
This is based on the recipe in Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite. The ingredient quantities make enough for two big bowls of salad; one for dinner and one for lunch the next day. It looks like a lot of food, but watermelon is mostly water (duh) so you need more than you think to fill you up.
- 1 seedless watermelon
- 4 handfuls arugula
- 1/2 pound of feta cheese
- 1 pound shrimp
- salt, pepper, cayenne
- 2 limes, extra-virgin olive oil
Cut the watermelon in half, then slice each half into 1.5-inch slices. Remove the rind, then cut the slices into chunks. Put the chunks into a large bowl with the arugula.
Crumble the feta over the top of the salad.
Prep and clean the shrimp then season with the salt, pepper and cayenne to your preference. (I used a lot of cayenne this time (like a 1/2 teaspoon (hey, it’s hot stuff)) and it really balanced everything else out.) Heat a nonstick pan on medium. Add some fat to the pan when hot (I used butter, but you may want to use olive oil). Cook the shrimp about 1 minute per side, then place on a plate to cool.
To make the dressing, juice two limes, then add twice as much extra-virgin olive oil. I use a mason jar for this and eyeball it. You want one part lime juice to two parts oil, if you must measure :). You should be able to taste both, but not one or the other too strongly.
Add the shrimp to the salad. When ready to serve, cover with the dressing.
One half watermelon makes 4 servings.
