Lazy evening, browsing through endless shows/ movies on Netflix and Amazon because we can never just pick a movie and run with it. What we could decide on in little to no time was this orzo shrimp romaine lettuce salad. There is something very comforting about enjoying a warm salad on a cool fall night. This orzo shrimp romaine lettuce salad absolutely fits the season. Warm, spicy,heartwarming and the perfect salad for empty bellies like ours.
Orzo
If you’ve not worked with orzo before ( you are me , three years ago) you need to go down that pasta aisle and get you a packet. Its a type of Pasta , looks like bigger rice grains. Orzo is not something I work with very often but after enjoying some salad recipes where my regular couscous was substituted with orzo, I just can’t seem to stop incorporating it with other meals. It adds a whole lot of substance, easily transforming a light salad into a main course.
If you’ve been around this blog you know by now how fond I am of seafood. If you’re vegan you can still enjoy the flavors of most of my recipes including this one with some basic substitutions. I welcome questions on what to use as substitutes. The shrimp marinade includes Essiespice coco for garlic and mango chili medley sauces. Before I go any further, this is not a sponsored post. I’ve been using her sauces for about 3 years and I absolutely love them because they go hand in hand with the flavors I create at afrovitalityeats. In the absence of these sauces, you can substitute with some fresh garlic and hot pepper of your choice. On the same note any olive oil works, I enjoy working with flavored olive oils and the persian lime olive oil used added another depth of flavor to the salad.
This salad is for two but you can easily make a crowd pleasing batch for your next dinner party. After preparing your ingredients , all you do is build you salad. Cook orzo ahead, refrigerate and quickly warm in a skillet when guests are ready to eat. Crisp fresh romaine is the way to go. You are not tied to whole leaves, you can chop them up. And is it just me or does adding avocados to salads make every it gourmet? And lets not forget about the vinaigrette that further elevates this salad. Honey ginger balsamic! Next to olive oils, balsamic are my favorite. A total 180 with any boring salad…not that this salad is boring in any shape or form. Sometimes I literally just throw a bunch of greens in a bowl, slice some onions and drizzle some honey ginger balsamic. BAAM! There’s your salad, simply delicious.
Orzo Salad with spicy shrimp and romaine lettuce
Ingredients
Shrimp
- 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp
- 1/2 Tbsp Essiespice Coco-For-Garlic ( Sub with minced garlic)
- 1 Tbsp Essiespice Mango Chili Medley ( Sub with any hot pepper)
- 1 Tbsp packed chopped parsley
- 1 Tbsp Persian lime olive oil
Honey Ginger Balsamic vinaigrette
- 1/4 cup Persian lime olive oil (or any flavored olive oil)
- 2 Tbsp Honey ginger balsamic
- 1 tsp Essiespice Coco-For-Garlic (or minced garlci)
- 1 Tbsp minced parlsey
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Orzo Salad
- 1 cup cooked orzo (follow package directions)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes (some halved)
- 6 romaine hearts ·washed
- 1 avocado sliced
Instructions
- Rinse and pad dry shrimp. Transfer into a bowl and add all ingredients for marinade. Mix well, cover with saran wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Preheat a cast iron skillet, drizzle some olive oil and pan roast shrimp on each side for about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile make vinaigrette by combining all ingredients in a bowl and whisk to mix. You can also use a vinaigrette shaker bottle
- To build salad, layer whole romaine hearts on a plate( you can also chop them up). Add orzo, grilled shrimp, cherry tomatoes and sliced avocado. Finish with a generous drizzle of the honey ginger balsamic vinaigrette and enjoy.
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