by: Marceline Donaldson

First I have to give credit where it is due.

I discovered a shrimp salad that I loved at Whole Foods in Fresh Pond in Massachusetts.

I went to the store several times to buy “my salad”, but sometimes the buffet area where it was sold for $9.99/pound would be empty. The same salad would be available at the deli counter with someone helping me behind the counter, but the cost was $17.99/pound so I decided I should develop my own – based on the tastes from that salad so I could have it whenever my taste demanded.

A Bettina Original

All ingredients should be organic. The shrimp should be “wild caught”. Freshly caught shrimp is preferable, but if you can’t find that, frozen shrimp will do if the shrimp are “as out of the water” – which means with shell on and have not been tampered with in any way as folks try to make using shrimp “easier” for you. It takes nothing to slit and devein shrimp. Lets take the “lazy” out of cooking and go for a great resulting dish.

You will need –

salt (himalayan preferred): Cayenne Pepper or if you prefer a bit of a vinegary taste, you can substitute Tabasco Sauce: Shoyu sauce :Yogurt and Mayonnaise (equal amounts) :Parsley – finely chopped :Onions – 2 kinds add to the taste: Olives – and, of course, shrimp.

Boil the shrimp in a pot of water with the shells on.*** Shrimp turn pink after only a couple minutes so be careful not to overcook them, they will turn tough. Take them out of the water, leaving the water in the pot. Remove the shrimp shells and any veins and put the shells back into the pot in which the shrimp were boiled. Simmer the shrimp water with shells for at least 1/2 hour.

Pour this water into a large jar after you remove the shells. You can drain this water, but you don’t have to. We do too much to make our food as “clean and clear” as possible thus removing great taste and nutrition throwing it down the drain. This gives you shrimp stock for other dishes down the road. It is amazing how many uses you can find for all kinds of stock if you have it on hand. The increase in taste of these dishes and the increase in nutritional value is worth the effort.

Mix all the above ingredients together and put them in the refrigerator overnight. It is important that you give this salad 24 hours for the different ingredients to meld together. The taste changes dramatically.

***We boil shrimp a couple different ways. Both very good, depending upon your taste – or part of the country in which you developed your taste. You can put a goodly amount of crab boil in the water when you boil the shrimp or you can use Old Bay. Both give the shrimp a little “oomph”.