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We all know that salad is good for us, but it’s not always exciting. There’s the standard iceberg lettuce, sliver of red onion, and single cherry tomato salads that so many take-out places seem fond of, and then there are bagged salads, which we love for the convenience factor, but that lack pizzazz. Salads don’t have to be some bland add-on to your dinner that you force down because they’re “healthy.” They can be worth of entree status in their own right, and Martha Stewart recently took to Instagram to show us how.
Stewart’s vibrant and flavorful dinner salad comes from the May issue of Martha Stewart Living Magazine. It’s also online. And lest you worry it’s just another boring “fancy” salad, let us assure you that you’re wrong. The name says it all: Gingery Shrimp Salad with Crispies.
The base of the salad itself is crunchy, flavorful, and varied. The recipe calls for leafy romaine lettuce, crunchy coleslaw mix, protein-rich edamame, and a fragrant mix of fresh herbs, like mint and cilantro. You could put a simple salad dressing on that and have a tasty side dish, but this is a dinner salad, and Stewart came prepared to satisfy.
The salad topping is what boosts it into entree status. Succulent shrimp get the star treatment, marinated in a sweet, tangy, robust mixture of hot pepper jelly, freshly grated ginger, and vinegar (that’s also used as the salad dressing), before being seared in a skillet until lightly charred.
But that’s not all. To amp up the crunch factor even more, you’ll fry up flour tortilla strips until crispy, sprinkle on some salt, and drain them on paper towels before assembling your meal.
Toss the salad base with the gingery dressing in your favorite salad bowl, add the shrimp and “crispies” on top, and you’ve got a dinner salad — a meal so satisfying, you don’t need to serve it with anything else.
Before you go, check out our slideshow below:
Watch: How to Make Giada De Laurentiis’ Stuffed Lasagna Rolls
