Grilled Plums and Shrimp Salad

Now that spring is finally here, I have been cooking with the fresh herbs that have suddenly come to life in my backyard.  Also the warmer weather means that I can use my backyard grill more frequently (being die-hard grillers my husband and I sometimes grill while standing in a foot of snow on the back patio). So this time I grilled shrimp that was marinated in a sauce made with Balsamic Vinegar, honey, olive oil, Sriracha sauce and lots of fresh herbs. I combined the grilled shrimp with grilled plums that were marinated in the same sauce. Yes, I know this is an unusual combination but believe me, it turned out really well.  For some added tang and flavor, I added a lot of fresh herbs and some feta cheese on top.  I served the grilled shrimp and plums on a bed of baby arugula and the remainder of the marinating sauce worked well as a salad dressing.

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Ingredients:

1.    ¾ lbs of Extra-large Tiger shrimp (tail on and deveined)
2.    4 plums (not very ripe ones because we need slightly hard ones to be able to stand up to the grilling process)
3.    The zest of one lemon
4.    3-4 ounces of feta cheese
5.    2-3 cups of fresh baby arugula
6.    3 tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
7.    3 tablespoons of honey
8.    3 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
9.    1.5 tablespoons of Sriracha (less if you don’t like too much spice)
10.    1/2 cup of fresh herbs (I used Mint, Oregano and Sage leaves – the majority of it was mint and lesser quantities of Oregano and Sage because these two herbs in excess can taste bitter)
11.    Salt to taste

Directions:

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1.    Prepare the marinade by combining the following ingredients: Balsamic Vinegar, olive oil, Sriracha, honey and salt.

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2.    Wash and finely chop all the fresh herb leaves.

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3.    Add half the chopped herb leaves into the marinade (keep the other half aside to be used in the salad later). Also add the zest of one lemon to the marinade.
4.    Divide the marinade into two halves. One half is for the shrimp and the second half is for the plums.
5.    Wash the shrimp under cold water and dry them thoroughly using a few kitchen paper towels.

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6.    Add the marinade to the cleaned de-veined shrimp.
7.    Using bamboo or metal skewers, skewer the shrimp.

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8.    Grill the shrimp over a charcoal grill (or a grilling pan indoor). Shrimp cook very fast so keep an eye on them. Flip them over after 4-5 minutes on the first side.

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9.    Place the grilled shrimp on a plate and set them aside.

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10.    Slice the plums in ½ inch thick slices. Remove the pits.

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11.    With a basting brush, baste both sides of the plums with the marinade that you had set aside for the.

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12.    Grill the marinated plums on a hot cast iron grill pan (you can also use the outdoor charcoal or gas grill). Flip the plum pieces after 2-3 minutes on the first side.

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13.    Place the grilled shrimp and grilled plums in a large mixing bowl.

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14.    Add the remaining amount of fresh herbs and the crumbled feta to the mixing bowl.

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15.    Also add the remaining amount of the marinade to the bowl. Do not add any of the marinade that was used for the shrimp (anything used for uncooked meats should be discarded) – just use the one that you had used for marinating the plums.  Gently toss this salad.
16.    Serve the salad on a bed of fresh baby arugula. Enjoy as a first course or as a light meal in itself!
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comments

  1. Permalink Submitted by Gurpriya Gill on Sun, 21/04/2013 - 16:20

    Yummy!

    • Permalink Submitted by Shabnam on Sun, 21/04/2013 - 16:21

      Thanks Gurpriya 🙂

  2. Permalink Submitted by Rupali Khanna on Sat, 04/05/2013 - 07:55

    NEED to try this soon! We love our BBQ too. Sunday bacon, eggs and toast are always done there.

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