Super Lemony Summer Shrimp Salad

Submitted by agentseven

I do believe that this is my favorite food of all time. It is so unbelievably delicious (especially if you're a fan of fresh vegetables) that I really don't have the words to describe it! It's called a "summer" salad, but what with modern agriculture being what it is, you can pretty much make it any time of the year. And bonus: your colon will thank you! This is one of those dishes that really makes you feel like you've done your body a favor after you eat it. That much having been said, here is where we are going:

And here is how we get there:

Ingredients

• 4 large lemons (or 6 small ones)
• 1 each red, yellow and green bell peppers
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 head broccoli
• 2 bunches green onions
• 1 lb shrimp (preferably fresh)
• Olive oil
• Dijon mustard
• Salt/pepper/sugar (or substitute)

No, I don't know why the broccoli looks frozen, it isn't - it's just water droplets catching the light

Method

Remove the cap and clean out the insides of your peppers, then wash them

Start the shrimp to boiling, then cut your peppers into thin strips

Watch that shrimp - it cooks quite fast, be careful to take it out of the boil as soon as you notice no more transparency

Make sure you run the shrimp under cold water or it will continue to cook and end up rubbery!

Remove the tails on the shrimp and devein if needed (I prefer buying shrimp that has already been deveined mechanically), then let them chill out while you finish with your cutting

Put your cut up peppers into a large salad bowl

Cut your broccoli and cauliflower into bite-sized morsels. Be careful about this, nobody likes big old honking clumps

Throw it in the bowl with the peppers

Chop your onion

Add it to the mix

And now to make the dressing, which I promise you, makes the dish! Squeeze your lemons

When you're done, you want about a cup of lemon juice. I was a little short this time, oh well this is really fast and loose, it's hard to go wrong

Add about a half as much olive oil as you have lemon juice

Add about half as much dijon mustard as you have olive oil

Add salt/pepper/sugar to taste, I usually add about 1/2 teaspoon of each, but I use Sweet&Low and just add a very little bit of a dash. The sweet should just barely be noticeable and balance out the tart. Whisk it all up

Add the now chilled shrimp to the veggies

Pour on the dressing

Mix it all up

Serving

Garnish with a lemon, and you're good to go!