Jumbo wild caught shrimp marinated and grilled then paired with avocado and grapefruit and dressed in a sweet and tangy citrus vinaigrette. Get the recipe.
This Lectin Free Gourmet grilled shrimp and avocado salad explodes with flavor. First, the shrimp soak up a tasty sweet and sour citrus marinade before they dive into a smokey grill. Avocado and grapefruit are the perfect accoutrement to well-dressed grilled shrimp. Plus you'll learn how to filet a grapefruit like a seasoned chef. The base of this salad is a mixture organic spinach, celery, and cucumbers (peeled and seeded of course). And it's all tossed in a perfect restaurant quality grapefruit vinaigrette. This salad is great as a starter for a fancy three-course meal, or alone as a light dinner. Read on for the recipe.
Who loves a good salad? I know I do, especially when it includes plenty of gut-friendly ingredients from Dr. Gundry's yes list. You'll want to start with wild-caught jumbo shrimp. These should be readily available from your local grocer's seafood department.
The importance of wild-caught can't be stressed enough. Often farm-raised seafood is fed manufactured pellets made with soybean and corn meal. The pellets also contain fish and poultry meal from animals fed these same pellets. So eating farm-raised meat and seafood is just a vicious lectin-paved turnabout with no exit. Therefore, it's always best to buy wild-caught!
Now that we understand each other, let's get to the recipe.
The Recipe
(Serves 2)
LFG Grilled Shrimp & Avocado Salad
10 Jumbo Wild-Caught Shrimp (deveined, peeled, tails left on)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Large Pink Grapefruit (fileted, see step 1)
1 Large Avocado (sliced)
1 Celery Stock (sliced)
1 Cucumber (peeled and seeded)
4 Cups Organic Raw Spinach (washed and stems trimmed)
LFG Grapefruit Vinaigrette
3 Tbsp Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice (leftover from step 1)
1/4 Cup Avocado Oil
1/4 Cup White Wine Vinegar
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp Pink Salt
1/4 tsp Cracked Pepper
2 tsp Raw Local Honey
Step 1: Filet the Grapefruit
With a sharp knife, cut the stem and navel ends off the grapefruit just enough to reveal the juicy fruit. Next, stand the grapefruit on one flat end. Saw off a knife-width portion of the peel from top to bottom just deep enough to slice off the membrane and reveal the juicy fruit. Repeat this all the way around the grapefruit until completely peeled and roundish. Save the peel, as there will be some valuable fruit still attached that we'll use for the vinaigrette.
Next, hold the peeled grapefruit in one palm. Cut the juicy segments out one by one by carefully slicing along the inside of the segment membranes. Go all the way around, removing segments individually until you have nothing but empty membranes. Place the grapefruit "filets" in a covered dish in the fridge until it's time to assemble the salad. Save the membrane along with the peel for the next step.
Step 2: Squeeze Juice for Vinaigrette
From the peel and membrane, you should get enough grapefruit juice for the dressing. Examine the peel pieces for fruit still stuck inside. Over a medium bowl, scrape the juice from inside of the peels with a spoon allowing juice to drip into the vessel. Next, squeeze the leftover membrane over the bowl until all the juice is extracted.
Step 3: Make the Vinaigrette
Into the bowl with grapefruit juice, add the remaining vinaigrette ingredients including avocado oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and honey. Whisk it all together until emulsified.
Step 4: Marinade the Shrimp
Into a zipper bag, add all 10 peeled and deveined shrimp (tails on). Next, add 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette you just made. Give the back a little shake the coat all the shrimp. Place in the fridge for an hour. Also, chill the remaining dressing.
Step 5: Prep Veggies
While you wait for the shrimp to marinade, destem the spinach and slice up your celery and cucumbers. I like my celery slices to be about 1/4-inch thin. Sliced thin, celery is more delicate, and you don't have to work so hard to chew it. To prepare the cucumbers, cut the ends off, then peel the fruit completely. Next, cut the cucumber in half from end to end. To remove the seeds, simply take a spoon and run it over the seeds from one end to another over a compost bin or garbage. The seeds should scrape out fairly easily. Finally, slice the cucumber 1/2-inch thick. Chill the sliced cucumber and celery until ready to assemble.
Step 6: Grill Shrimp
Fire up the grill to 400 degrees F. Place marinated shrimp onto the open grill. Grill one side 2-3 minutes until dark grill marks appear. Then flip and grill the other side another 2-3 minutes. Remove shrimp promptly as you do not want them overcooked.
Step 7: Assemble Salad
Into a large bowl, toss prepared spinach with sliced celery and cucumber. Toss in remaining vinaigrette. Divide onto two chilled salad plates. Next, place grapefruit filets on top of dressed greens. Now, crown each salad by standing five shrimp, tails up, onto the center. Finally, slice the avocado and place slices onto one side of the shrimp crown. Garnish with fresh herbs like dill or mint.
This salad pairs really well with Champagne. Cheers and enjoy!