Warm Green Salad with Roasted Shrimp

Warm Green Salad with Roasted Shrimp

Serves 4

1 pound large (20 – 25 per pound) frozen peeled and deveined raw shrimp

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

6 tablespoons olive oil

Zest and juice of one large lemon

1 large pinch red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon salt, plus a little extra

1 large carrot, peeled

1 cucumber, peeled if it has been waxed

1 bunch of arugula (5 or 6 ounces)

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

1 red or yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into thin strips

3 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a rimmed baking sheet and set it aside.

While the oven is preheating (and the shrimp are roasting), start on the vegetables. Using a vegetable peeler, shave the carrot into thin peel strips. Cut the cucumber in half crosswise, pick up one half and also start shaving it down until you get to the seeds. Then give it a quarter turn and start shaving it again, etc.  Repeat with the other half.  You’ll end up with lovely, fluffy piles of carrot and cucumber.

If the shrimp won’t come apart, run them quickly under cold water to separate them. They should still be frozen.  Dry them off with a paper or cloth towel and spread them out on the sprayed baking sheet. Whisk the red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon of salt, the lemon zest and juice, and the olive oil together in a small bowl and pour them over the shrimp. Use a spatula or a large spoon to get the shrimp and garlic coated. Put the baking sheet in the preheated oven and roast for 25 to 30 minutes.  Stir in the sliced garlic after 15 minutes. The shrimp will be done when they start to turn lightly pink and feel firm to the touch. The garlic should be lightly golden.

Take the pan from the oven and scrape everything into the bowl you’re going to serve the salad in. Let the shrimp cool until they’re warm but not scalding hot. Then put the arugula on top of the shrimp, followed by the pepper strips and sliced scallions. Top with the carrot shavings, cucumber shavings, and tomatoes. Toss everything together gently and taste for salt. Serve immediately.