I've been in a cooking rut for a little while. Although the peppers in my garden are just beginning to ripen. So, it's almost the season for making anything and everything with spicy food. Today, I have a couple of flaming jade peppers. Flaming jades are similar to a jalapeño or serrano pepper, which makes them on the relatively mild scale, at least when compared to the other monstrosities that I'm growing. These go well with the subtle flavor profile of potato salad as well as the Patagonian shrimp that I opted for today. I don't tend to be that much of a shrimp fan. Although I do get some pretty good Patagonian shrimp at my local grocery store. And it's always fun to mix and match things that I wouldn't ordinarily cook that much with.
Gallery
This is about half of the shrimp and potato salad. This was kind of a potluck and I did not get a photo of everything together! You will get more like 4-6 side servings. You can also dice up and mix in the shrimp, if you want it to be more of a grab-and-go dish.
Variations of Shrimp Potato Salad
I don't tend to make salads all that much. I have an aversion to lettuce doused in mayonnaise. I know that that's a staple before every meal. But it's not my cup of tea. It also isn't all that easy to digest, making it an odd choice right before a big meal. Although I do occasionally make salads that are less lettuce and on the more loosely defined spectrum of the term "salad." I'm much more partial to vermicelli salads or quinoa salads. Really, anything that vaguely looks like a salad while containing no actual lettuce. Maybe a few sprouts or green onions. But ordinarily no lettuce in sight. Or mayonnaise, for that matter. I almost hate to say it, the amount of things that only taste good because they're drowned in mayonnaise and then still called a "health" food are astounding.
Peel and dice potatoes. They should be able an inch thick.
Place in a large pot and cover with 2 inches of water.
Bring to a boil over high heat.
Boil for 10-15 minutes, or until tender. You should be able to stick a fork in them and have it break in two pieces. They're not quite cooked if the fork comes out cleanly. And they're overdone if it breaks apart completely, instead of just in half.
Drain and let cool to the touch.
Fry Shrimp
Preheat high heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add whole shrimp to the skillet and turn in the oil.
Cook, turning occasionally, for 3-5 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked.Shrimp is done when the meat reaches 135-140 degrees Fahrenheit. At this point the shell should be bright red and the inner meat should be white, not grey or translucent. The tails should also curl in to create a spiral.
Assemble Salad
Mix all of the potato salad ingredients together and chill for at least 1-2 hours.Potato salad is a great dish to make ahead of time as well and sits well in the refrigerator for 1-2 days. Just make sure to cook the shrimp right before serving.
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