The days are getting hotter, which can only mean one thing: Summer is almost here. And with the arrival of summer comes salad cravings. Well, lighter food in general, but salads just scream “summer” to me. That’s why I couldn’t resist this Shrimp, Asparagus, and Avocado Salad recipe. It promises to be a light salad topped with shrimp and lemon vinaigrette. How perfect for warm weather!
This shrimp, asparagus and avocado salad is utterly delicious and perfect for spring. It’s a light, vibrant, creamy and healthy avocado salad.
The Ingredients
This recipe is actually 2 separate recipes, 1 for salad and 1 for lemon vinaigrette. I made sure to download both before I did my pre-shopping kitchen check. It turns out I had several ingredients, so my shopping list wasn’t too long.
All I had to buy fresh produce (including lemons, I used 2) and shrimp. I opted for frozen because that was the only way I could find it peeled and deveined. I was pleasantly surprised to find the tails were removed too. All I had to do was run the shrimp under cool water for a few minutes to thaw them.
I also found a 6-ounce bag of baby spinach, and I used the whole thing—it was just over 4 cups. It was pre-washed, so that made things quicker and easier. And I opted for a Haas avocado since that’s my favorite type. They are small, though, so I could have added a second.
By the way, the bunch of asparagus I bought had 38 spears. Perhaps because they were on the thin side? I thought about using them all but didn’t want to overpower the other ingredients. I ended up counting out 20.
The Process
I made the salad and dressing in parallel. First, I put a pot of water on to boil for the shrimp. While it heated, I whipped up the dressing in my mini-prep.
I moved on to prepping the greens while the water finished heating. That included setting up a large bowl of ice water and a large colander in my sink. I wanted them ready so the shrimp and asparagus didn’t overcook, and it worked perfectly.
I also put a large saute pan on to preheat while I prepped. The recipe doesn’t say to, but I added a touch of olive oil to the pan to be safe. Most of the prep work was done by the time I began cooking the shrimp and asparagus—all but slicing the avocado. I peeled and seeded it then placed the halves sliced side down on my cutting board so they wouldn’t turn brown as fast.
I gave the shrimp and asparagus my full attention so they didn’t overcook. That was mostly tossing the asparagus with tongs so they cooked on all sides. When they were done transferring them to the ice bath was easy.
I sliced the avocado while the asparagus and shrimp chilled for a minute or two in the ice water. Then it was time to assemble my creation. That also meant I had to address my biggest problem with salads: The heavy ingredients sinking to the bottom.
Fortunately, I solved that problem long ago. The recipe doesn’t say to, but I held back a few pieces of shrimp, asparagus, and avocado to top the salad. Then I used my largest mixing bowl (6 quarts/24 cups) so I could toss the ingredients together and thoroughly mix them. This part was a little messy and needed lots of room.
Lastly, I transferred the tossed salad to a large serving bowl (86 ounces) and topped it with the remaining ingredients. It gives you that pretty Martha Stewart look without any real work, and I’m all for that!
Timing
This recipe lists 15 minutes to prep, 5 minutes to cook, and 20 minutes total time. I came close to that:
- 22 minutes to prep
- 3 minutes to cook
- 25 minutes total
