RECIPE: President Roslin's Spicy Shrimp Salad (BSG Finale)

This is a salad I invented for a Battle Star Galactica series finale party. Danny was showing off his pizza skills with five BSG themed pizzas, each represting a different season of the show. I tried to show him up with this...

I'm calling it "President Roslin's Spicy Shrimp Salad" because recently I took a What BGS Character Are You? quiz on FB and turned up Roslin. Bhhhhrrrrr! Anywhere, here's a picture of Roslin toking up. I bet she and Adama would have particularly enjoyed this salad that day.



Step 1:
1 lb. raw, peeled shrimp
1/2 c. white or apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. water
2 Tbs. Old Bay spice mix
1 tsp. chipotle or cayenne pepper (2 tsp. if you like it spicy-spicy)

Bring water, vinegar and spices to a rapid boil in a pot. Add shrimp and cook about 3 minutes, tossing shrimp occasionally as it cooks. Drain BUT DO NOT RINSE the shrimp. Set aside.

Step 2:
a couple carrots
about a half a medium-small jaicama
rice wine vinegar (or white balsamic, or lime juice, or whatever acid you prefer)
a few drops of sesame oil (optional)

Peel or scrape the carrots and peel the jaicama. Julienne the veggies (a mandolin is convenient, but you can do it by hand) to matchsticks. You'll want to eyeball the proportions. You'll want about equal amounts of carrot to jaicama, and the mass of the veggies should be about twice that of the mass of the shrimp. (Sorry not to be more precise here. I'm an eyeball cook.) Toss the veggies in the vinegar and sesame oil. (You probably don't need added salt, since the shrimp will be salty on their own, but if you want to add a bit extra, add it to the veggies at this stage.)

Step 3:
arugula
baby spinach
olive oil
cilantro

Assemble the salad. Make a nice bed of half arugula and half baby spinach. Toss lightly with olive oil. Distribute the veggies over the greens. Distribute the shrimp over the veggies. Sprinkle chpped cilantro over the whole salad.

Probably serves about 6 as a side salad or 2-3 as a main dish.


Notes and tips:

• Keep an eye on that shrimp. You may need to adjust cooking time depending on size of shrimp. When everything looks pink IT'S DONE! No overcooky shrimpy!
• Save shrimp shells -- whether raw or cooked -- in a baggie in the freezer. Later you can make a most delicious stock with them.
• I bet if you couldn't get jaicama you could use apple. Make sure the apple matchsticks are covered with the vinegar so they don't discolor. The sweetness might be particularly nice if you kicked up the spiciness of the shrimpt to 2 tsp. of cayenne. Just a guess...