Spicy Tex-Mex Shrimp Salad
This Spicy Tex-Mex Shrimp Salad was inspired by a dish I had a Chili’s a few weeks ago. We went to celebrate my man finishing school and passing his exams! He chose Chili’s, which I haven’t eaten at in years. The Tex-Mex Shrimp Salad I chose sounded delicious and it wasn’t terrible, but I knew I could recreate it to taste even better and fresher.
I made this version extra spicy by adding a habanero pepper to the Pico De Gallo. Originally I had planned to put a jalapeño pepper in the Pico De Gallo and sent Nelson out on a grocery run as I had forgotten to pick one up. They were out at two stores so he picked up a Habanero instead. We like spicy but this is really spicy! So if you’re not a fan of spicy go with the jalapeño pepper instead.
I used to eat shrimp all the time, but haven’t bought it in ages. After having them in the salad I know I’ll be incorporating them into my diet more often again. They are so delicious! For this recipe, I tossed the shrimp in a spice mixture of cumin, cayenne and himalayan rock salt. The flavour was great!
I also recreated the black bean and corn salad that came with my dish at Chili’s. I used Eden Organic’s canned black beans to make the recipe quicker and easier. I just don’t have the patience to soak and prepare legumes. That’s why I don’t eat them that often, but when I do I buy Eden Organic’s because they are properly prepared making them easier to digest. The cans are also BPA free as most cans lining contains BPA. I also used frozen organic corn to stick with the quick and easy theme for this recipe.
I love the colours of this dish! Real food is so pretty and vibrant. You could never photograph packaged, processed foods and have them look as beautiful.
- 1lb shrimp, peeled, deveined and defrosted
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp Cayenne
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Mixed Greens
- Avocado
- Pico De Gallo
- 3 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/3 c red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsps cilantro, chopped
- 1 jalapeño or habanero pepper, diced
- 1 tbsp key lime juice
- Black bean and corn salad
- 1 c organic corn, frozen
- 1 c black beans
- 1/4 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp key lime juice
- 1/2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- lime zest
- To make Pico De Gallo mix all ingredients together in a bowl and let sit, while preparing the rest of the dish.
- In another small bowl mix black beans, corn, cumin, sea salt, key lime juice, EVOO and lime zest. Set aside.
- Mix 1 tbsp cumin, 1/2 tsp cayenne and 1 tsp sea salt in a small bowl.
- Rinse shrimp and pat dry with paper towels. Make sure to remove tails and place shrimp in a ziploc bag. Add 1 tbsp of spice mixture to ziploc bag and shake to coat shrimp.
- Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat and melt cooking fat like lard, butter/ghee or even coconut oil.
- Add shrimp and cook until white on bottom side them flip over to cook other side. Shrimp cook quickly and it takes about 2-3 minutes per side.
- To assemble salad place mixed greens in a bowl. Top with a scoop of black bean and corn salad, Picco De Gallo, shrimp and avocado slices.
