Grub It Up: Stonefruit and Grilled Shrimp Salad

As we stood in front of a fruit stand at the farmer's market last weekend, chowing down nectarine sample slices by the handful, with juice running down our chins, I mentioned to mom that I wanted to bring nectarines to school for my fruit day. After cursing herself for forgetting that said fruit day was the very next day, she hugged me for bringing it up and told me to go ahead and pick out a few pounds. Then she double-checked the calendar when we got home and realized that I had it wrong -- my fruit day was next week. Oh well, good thing we like nectarines.

Mom had already planned to make Melissa Joulwan's Ginger-Lime Grilled Shrimp (what? we told you "Well Fed" is her new favorite cookbook), so she threw together a salad to serve with it and BAM, hit it out of the park with the flavor combo. Well, mom thinks she hit it out of the park.The sweetness of the salad really balances the spicy shrimp. And the nectarines were perfect, but other stone fruit currently bountiful at the market (like plums) would probably be just as yummy.

I (of course) won't eat shrimp and Cam eats it, even when it is spicy like this one, but she also chose to go with the chicken mom had on the back burner for me (of course, Cami still ate shrimp off of mom's plate, too). As usual, she served ours up a la carte style: chicken (and shrimp), sliced nectaries, sliced avocado, and brown rice ('cause we're still not down with this Paleo nonsense).

Get it while the produce is good. Serves 4.

Ginger-Lime Grilled Shrimp:
Ingredients:
- juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 teaspoons freshly-grated ginger (about a 2-inch piece)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds large shrimp

Directions:
In a small bowl, squeeze the lime to extract the juice, then add the red pepper flakes, garlic, ginger, salt, black pepper, and cilantro. Mix well with a fork, then drizzle in oil, stirring constantly.

With a small, sharp knife, pierce the shrimp at the head end and carefully cut along the back toward the tail, removing the dark vein. Rinse in running water. Pat dry, then place the shrimp in a medium bowl and mix with the marinade. Cover tightly and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat the grill on high heat with the lid closed, about 10 minutes. Thread the shrimp on skewers, leaving a little room between them so they don't steam. Grill 2-3 minutes per side with the lid closed. OR grill in the same manner on a grill pan indoors -- mom did and it worked just fine.

Stone Fruit Salad:
Ingredients:
- 8 ounces mixed greens
- 1 nectarine, chopped
- 2 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
- 3/4 of an avocado, chopped
- 1/2 of a red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Directions:
Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix gently. Divide salad into four servings and top with shrimp (about 6 shrimps per serving, with some shrimp as leftovers). Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. EAT.

p.s. not that she's thinking about cheese AT ALL, but if you are so inclined to add goat cheese to the salad, we bet it would be delish.