Spinach Salad with Shrimp and Strawberries actually was created for a camping trip. Camping? Yep! You have to understand, there are campers…and then there are campers. First, there are those who camp to get away from normal everyday responsibilities. They go camping to relax and just have fun. Cooking? Nah, they say. Order a pizza. No cooking, no mess, no clean up. After all a vacation is a vacation, right? Can’t blame them.
Spinach Salad with Shrimp & Strawberries
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I fall into the second group. I love to cook and equally love eating well, so that means I need to take food with me and try and get creative with recipes on the road. Vegetables and fruit keep well in our little refrigerator. When I say little, I really mean it. There’s room for fresh salad fixins, Angel’s carrots of course, bottled water, made- ahead salad dressing and yogurt. And in the teeny tiny freezer, there’s room for some fish and shrimp. That all works well on the road.
On one of our trips where we were meeting friends, I decided we needed to have a fun salad that could double as dinner, and Spinach Salad with Shrimp and Strawberries was created. I love this salad. The ingredients are fresh and beautiful, but I think it’s the creamy dressing that makes it.
I had experimented with Miso in salad dressings and decided I really loved it. Miso not only adds viscosity to the dressing allowing it to cling to the food, but it also adds incredible taste. There are actually 4 different tastes in food: sweet, salty, bitter and sour. And then there’s the 5th taste and that is umami. It’s just entirely different because of it’s richness and depth of flavor. Miso is one of the foods that has that taste. And the bonus is that Miso is so good for you because it’s full of protein from the fermented soybeans it’s made from, plus vitamins like B, E, K and folic acid. I mean, what could be better? It tastes great and it’s super healthy too.
Actually with the dressing and the ingredients of this Spinach Salad with Shrimp and Strawberries, it has almost all of the flavors combined. The sweetness, but not overly sweet, of the miso dressing and Strawberries, the saltiness of the shrimp and the miso dressing, and the semi bitterness of the greens. It’s a great salad and, yep, it travels well.
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Spinach Salad with Shrimp and Strawberries
Ingredients
- 9 Medium Shrimp, raw Peeled and deveined
- 1 Lime Juiced
- 3 Cups Baby Spinach Rinsed and dried
- 7 Strawberries Sliced thin
- 1 Tbsp Olive oil
- 1/4 Tsp Salt
- 1/4 Tsp Pepper
- 3/4 Tbsp White Miso paste
- 1 Tbsp Rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 Tsp Honey
- 1-2 Tsp Grated ginger root Depending on taste
- 1/2 Tsp Sesame Oil
- 1/2 Tsp Mirin
Instructions
- Marinate cleaned shrimp juice of 1/2 lime, salt and pepper for 20 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- In frypan over medium high heat add olive oil and shrimp. Saute shrimp for 1-2 minutes on each side. Remove immediately and let cool.
- While waiting for shrimp to cool make salad dressing. In a small mixing bowl add miso, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, sesame oil, juice of 1/2 lime and Mirin. Whisk well.
- Add spinach to serving bowl. Add sliced strawberries, then add cooled shrimp. Pour dressing lightly over salad.
Nutrition
