Shrimp and Tomato Salad, with a Mint-Hazelnut Pesto

The key ingredient here is the Mint Pesto, which is surprisingly easy to make (OK. Surprising only if you don't know how easy it is to make. Otherwise, well, unsurprising...)
Basically, in a small cuisinart (or a mortar/pestle), grind together
2 handfuls mint leaves
12 roasted unsalted hazelnuts
1/2 clove garlic
juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp olive oil 
1/4 tsp salt
and thats that.
(You might want to add some water, to get the consistency the way you like it.  Once done, use as much as you want, and put the rest in a small bowl, topped with olive oil.  It'll keep for a week or so that way)

Defrost (or prepare) your shrimp (around 7 per serving, depending on size). 
 I usually buy the cooked/peeled/tailed kind from Trader Joe's, it takes about 5-7 minutes to defrost it, which is easy to do while you're pulling the following tomato mix together.  If you are actually cooking your shrimp, do whatever you need to do :-)
 
Pull together, in a bowl, the following 2 large tomatoes, cut up into 1/2" cubes 12 olives pitted and chopped. Any kind will do, as long as they're not from a can 1 tsp chopped jalapeno
1 tbsp mint pesto (from above)
juice of 1 lemon salt to taste and let the whole thing sit, so that the flavors infuse into each other.

Divide the above  into 4 bowls, and top with mozarella di bufala (or fresh ricotta. Both work wonderfully well).
Top that with some more roasted hazelnuts. Serve with a country bread of some kind, and a glass of summery rose, and enjoy!
  
Note : If you've got any pomegranate seeds, sprinkle liberally. The crunch/juice factor puts this recipe over the top!

Note2 : For a little extra body, add 1 cup "short pasta" (trumpets, orzo, orecchiette, whatever), cooked, to the mix and let it sit while the squash is roasting.  You probably want the pasta to cool down just a touch before adding.  Not too much though, otherwise it'll dry out

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Cannonball Tree!