Whenever we travel, our neighbor Susan watches Kato, our cat, and sends us texts and pictures to show us how much he is not missing us at all….or not as much as we miss him! That’s a great relief for us but no big surprise since Susan loves animals. She does foster care for animals that are not ready to go to a new loving home for a variety of reasons. Some are for health reasons and some are because they are too young and need to get a bit older to be spayed or neutered. We have watched her compassion in caring for these animals turn them around and prepared them for their new family. The bonus is we get to play with all kinds of animals and never do the dirty work!
We like to share a glass of wine on the patio, catch up on the latest news and we constantly learn new things about each others lives. Susan has a passion for animals but not for cooking so she graciously volunteers to be the 2nd resident guinea pig when I whip up a new creation. She is a good sport and we all have fun!
Susan brought a lovely Viognier which paired beautifully with the grilled shrimp, avocados and oranges. I think you’ll enjoy this salad as much as we did! Cheers!
In a medium non-reactive bowl, whisk together the lime juice, marmalade, garlic, cilantro, 1/3 cup of the olive oil, soy sauce and dried hot red pepper flakes. Using a measuring cup, remove 1/2 cup and set aside, refrigerated. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss to combine thoroughly with the marinade. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Place the bamboo skewers in a shallow tray and cover with hot water to soak for at least 30 minutes. Set aside until you are ready to grill the shrimp.
Lightly pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. You don’t want your marinade to catch on fire!
Thread the shrimp onto the soaked wooden skewers. Using a brush, lightly coat the shrimp on both sides with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
Grill for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until shrimp are golden brown on both sides and cooked through.
Place the butter lettuce on a plate and arrange the avocado slices and orange segments with space for the shrimp.
Place the shrimp between the avocado slices and the orange segments. Drizzle the reserved dressing evenly over the 4 plates and garnish with the cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately.
To make this an entree serving, add Pistachio Chive Brown Rice to the plate and serve.
- 2 limes, zested
- 3/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/2 cup orange marmalade
- 3 large garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
- 1 pound large shrimp, about 16, shelled and deveined
- 4 wooden skewers
- 1 ripe avocado, peeled and quartered lengthwise, fanned out onto 4 plates
- Butter lettuce
- 1 orange, peeled and sectioned (all pith and membranes removed)
- Fresh cilantro sprigs
- In a medium non-reactive bowl, whisk together the lime juice, marmalade, garlic, cilantro, 1/3 cup of the olive oil, soy sauce and dried hot red pepper flakes. Using a measuring cup, remove 1/2 cup and set aside, refrigerated. Add the shrimp to the bowl and toss to combine thoroughly with the marinade. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Place the bamboo skewers in a shallow tray and cover with hot water to soak for at least 30 minutes. Set aside until you are ready to grill the shrimp.
- Preheat a grill or broiler to medium heat.
- Lightly pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and thread the shrimp onto the soaked wooden skewers. Using a brush, lightly coat the shrimp on both sides with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
- Grill for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until shrimp are golden brown on both sides and cooked through.
- Place the butter lettuce on a plate and arrange the avocado slices and orange segments with space for the shrimp.
- Place the shrimp between the avocado slices and the orange segments. Drizzle the reserved dressing evenly over the 4 plates and garnish with the cilantro sprigs. Serve immediately.
- To make this an entree serving, add Pistachio Chive Brown Rice to the plate and serve.
