Herbaceous Citrus Red Shrimp Salad

How we make it.

*serves 10 to 15*

4 pounds Argentine Red Shrimp, roasted
6 ounces fresh English peas, blanched
1 cup red onion, small diced
7 ounces feta, cubed
9 ounces tiny tomatoes
2 tablespoons mint, chopped
2 tablespoons basil, chopped
2 tablespoons dill, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Dressing

½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, grated
Zest of one orange, plus half the orange's juice
Zest of one lemon, plus whole lemon's juice
Dash of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spread shrimp on two baking sheets in a single layer. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast for about 8 minutes until firm and cooked through. Let cool and set aside.

Bring a pot of water to boil and once boiling, add peas for a minute or two to blanch. After a minute or so, remove the peas and place them in a bowl of ice water to shock them until cool. Drain and set aside.

In large bowl toss together cooled shrimp, peas, diced onion, cubed feta and tomatoes. Gently stir in dressing and refrigerate until cold, up to two days in advance of serving. Just before you're ready to serve, shower with chopped herbs, mixing gently to combine. Serve cold.

Why we make it.

You know, originally for Patti's Retirement Bash I had planned on a nice tail on roasted shrimp with perhaps a Green Goddess. Perhaps a creamy Henry Bain. I was already several sauces deep for this shin dig and vacillating. But then my fish market friends told me they had in some nice Argentinian Red Shrimp - no tails - but sweet and rosy. A shrimp salad instead, I thought? Of course. That would be even more special for my sister-in-law's mother-in-law's party. I googled a few shrimp salads only to be appalled by the thought of covering a red shrimp's beautiful pink flesh with mayonnaise. Citrus vinaigrette for these babies. Herbaceous. Fresh. Clean. Something that would accentuate the shrimp's sweetness and not hide the color. Perfumed with orange zest. Punctuated by the pop of peas and tiny tomatoes, the crack of red onion. Studded with salty chunks of feta. Showered with a blend of fresh herbs. More marinated than dressed, really. It's a bright, herby shrimp explosion. It's a party. And that's why I made it for Patti.