This is a very tasty cold shrimp salad with creamy dill dressing. Pretty simple ingredients but the flavor is outstanding. Make a summery, light dinner that’s no guilt, but packed with protein…and Dill. The dressing is packed with dill and lemon flavors and it pairs so well with the poached shrimp. Use whatever salad ingredients you want and serve the dressing on the side for dipping. If you like shrimp you’ll want to make this several times this summer.
Ingredients for the Salad
The dressing is really the star if this dish. I wanted to keep it light so it contains; yogurt, mayonnaise, fresh chopped dill, lemon juice and a little salt and pepper. The recipe makes enough for 3 salads and by itself is just around 100 calories per serving.
The dill I used is from the local Farmer’s Market. I bought 2 good sized clumps and prepared the dill for freezing.
First, rinse the dill in cold water then lay it on some towels to dry. When pretty dry, just use your hands to pull off the fronds, discarding the thicker stems. Place individual servings of the dill into small plastic bags and freeze. The Spruce Eats website has the details of how to freeze dill.
You’ll have lots of dill to use in the months ahead and won’t have to buy those $3.00 packages from the grocery store.
MaryJo has been making our yogurt which is whole milk. I like the whole milk variety rather than the low fat. The low fat yogurt seems to have a chalky texture which is off-putting. 1/3 of a cup is used.
Next is 1/4 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of chopped dill, the juice from half a lemon, and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Mix this all together and you’ll have a creamy dill dressing.
Prepare the Shrimp
For this recipe, use raw shrimp. You could use pre-cooked in a pinch if you wanted to. I just think that fresh cooked is the best. Peel and devein the shrimp and take the tails off for easier eating.
The shrimp are poached in large pot that contains lemon juice and zest, bay leaves, salt, sugar, and some black peppercorns. Place the aromatics in the pot with 2 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Once you have a rolling boil, remove the pot from the heat and add the shrimp.
Have a kitchen spider or strainer ready because the shrimp will be poached in no more than 2 minutes. I started to take the shrimp out at around 1 minute and 45 seconds, and these were big 16 to 20 size shrimp. Smaller shrimp would take less time. You want to stop the cooking once the flesh is turning all white.
Place the shrimp and zest on a paper towel lined plate then place this into your freezer for 8 to 10 minutes to cool. I like this method of cooling rather than an ice bath which seems to wash away some of the flavors that have developed.
Assemble the Salad
It’s up to you what you want to include in your salad. Anything you would use in a green garden salad would be great. I kept it simple with leaf lettuce, tomato, cucumber and radishes. I recommend that you also keep the shaved lemon zest…it is quite tasty. A few capers added a bit of zesty flavor.
FAQ’s
Since the dressing contains a good amount of citric acid, it should last a week in the refrigerator. Fresh squeezed juice will start to oxidize and lose it’s flavor after this.
You may want to use seared chicken breast, ham, cheese or even fried tofu. The dressing will enhance any of these.
If you like good shrimp recipes, here are some more to try:
- Shrimp Penne alla Vodka Sauce
- Shrimp and Sausage Stew
- Jambalaya with Sausage and Shrimp
- Bonefish Grill Bang Bang Shrimp
Give this shrimp salad with creamy dill dressing a try. Hope you guys like it.
Shrimp Salad with Creamy Dill Dressing
Ingredients
Dressing
- 1/3 cup whole milk yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
Poaching Liquid
- 2 qts water
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 2 bay leaves
- 15-20 black peppercorns
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Salad
- 1 1/2 lbs large raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed
- lettuce of choice
- sliced tomato
- radishes
- cucumber
- capers
- additional chopped dill
Instructions
Dressing
- Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
Poaching Liquid
- Use a large pot and add all the ingredients and bring to a rolling boil. Then, remove the pot from the heat and add the shrimp. Use a kitchen spider or strainer to check the shrimp. Once the shrimp is white and opaque, remove from the water and place on a paper towel lined plate. The shrimp should be done in 1 minute 45 seconds to 2 minutes.
- Place the plate of shrimp into your freezer for 8 to 10 minutes to cool. Remove and use right away or refrigerate.
Salad
- Assemble salad and top with the shrimp. Place about 2 tablespoons of the dressing in a small bowl to use as a dipping vessel.
- Garnish with more chopped dill, capers and salt and pepper as desired.
Notes
- Nutrition information is based on the ingredients in the pictured salads. The dressing and the shrimp contribute the most calories.
- I recommend using uncooked, raw shrimp but cooked shrimp can also be used.
- Store unused dressing covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Nutrition
This sounds like the perfect summer meal!!! Going out to buy shrimp and dill right now.
thank for share.. its make my hungry
I givie this recipe 10 stars! The flavor of the lemon and dill with the creaminess of the yogurt and mayo is just heavenly. Super light and super delicious dinner on a super hot night!