Shrimp and Quinoa Salad With Chipotle Vinaigrette | Pescatarian | Vegan Option

Today I’m happy to introduce you to a fellow Canadian food blogger that I like a lot, Dana from Killing Thyme blog. She’s created this delicious Shrimp and Quinoa Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette especially for you! I will let her introduce herself below. I also created a special recipe for her blog, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Enjoy!

Hi! I’m Dana of Killing Thyme, a pescetarian food blog, and I’m thrilled to be sharing my eats with you today here at eyecandypopper.com.

One of my favorite things about the food blog experience, aside from spending my days cooking, photographing, eating, and writing about food, is the relationships I’ve formed with fellow bloggers over the years. We teach one another, we inspire one another and, a lot of the time, we keep one another sane; we deter one another from throwing in our dish towels.

Needless to say, when Gabrielle, aka ECP and I started toying with the idea of collaborating and writing a guest post for one another’s blog, I was pretty jazzed. After all, we’re both passionate about sustainability and healthy choices; the collaboration made sense. She created a nom-worthy Maple Baked Pear and Walnut Breakfast with Granola Since for my blog and, since my main focus is the pescetarian diet, Gabrielle thought it would be a good idea to bring something fishy to Eyecandypopper — but not too fishy! I’m talkin’ some juicy, easy-to-devour Alaska-caught shrimp.

Shrimp is the most consumed type of seafood in the US, so it’s important to shop for it responsibly. Unfortunately unsustainable options are more common and more easily available than sustainable ones. Always look for “Best Choice” shrimp; the majority of “Best Choice” is caught in Alaska, but there are other good options — both wild and farmed. You can also look for “Sustainably Caught”, “cCertified Sustainable Seafood” or “Good Catch” designations. Knowing where any of your seafood comes from, as well as the difference between good and bad fishing/farming methods, is critical. If you aren’t sure, talk to your fishmonger.

This recipe brings a lot of great things together: sustainable shrimp and fresh little homegrown tomatoes from my garden; smoky heat and a slight sweetness; creamy avocado chunks and crunchy pepitas. Though this salad is new, I can easily call it my favorite. It makes for a great contribution to any gathering, it’s a fabulous dinner side, and a nourishing light lunch.

If you’re not big on shrimp, or can’t source any sustainable varieties, you can skip them, making this a vegan salad.

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Thanks for taking the time to welcome a new voice here at Eyecandypopper!

Dana @ Killing Thyme

Want to keep up with me? KillingThyme.net | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

Don’t forget to check out ECP’s Maple Baked Pear and Walnut Breakfast with Granola recipe that she created especially for Killing Thyme.

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Shrimp and Quinoa Salad With Chipotle Vinaigrette | Pescatarian, Vegetarian Option

Course: Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Dana @ Killing Thyme

A simple and fresh salad for everyone to enjoy for lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

For the quinoa:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• Pinch of kosher salt

For the dressing:

• ½ cup red wine vinegar
• ⅓ cup maple syrup
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp water
• 1-2 Tbsp chipotle hot sauce adjust to your taste/heat preference
• 2 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp fresh parsley leaves
• 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
• ¾ cup olive oil
• Juice of half a lime

For the Shrimp:

• 1-2 Tbsp avocado oil
• 10 oz sustainable shrimps peeled and deveined
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¼ tsp lime zest
• Juice of half a lime
• Pinch of chili flakes optional

Other:

• 1 cup black beans
• ½ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds) toasted
• 1 cup torn or ribboned baby spinach
• 1 large avocado cubed
• ⅓ cup red onion chopped
• ½ cup grape tomatoes cut in halves
• Freshly chopped parsley or cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Quinoa:

1. In a medium saucepan, add vegetable broth, quinoa, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, and salt. Stir to give it a quick mix, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until quinoa is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed, approx. 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Set aside.

Dressing:

1. Place all of the ingredients for the dressing in a blender, and blend until cohesive. Taste, and adjust the seasoning and heat to your preference. Set aside.

Shrimp:

1. Heat 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil of your choice in a skillet. While that heats up, place shrimp in a bowl and toss with chili powder, lime zest, lime juice, and chili flakes until evenly coated. Once the oil is hot, carefully add the shrimp to the pan and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes or until opaque, turning once halfway through. Shrimp doesn’t take long to cook, so be careful to not overcook it otherwise they will have a rubbery texture. Once ready, remove from heat and set aside.

Assembly:

1. Add the cooked quinoa to a large bowl along with the black beans, toasted pepitas, spinach, avocado, onion, tomatoes, and shrimp. Add half of the dressing, and toss to coat. Taste. If you feel it needs more dressing, add more to your taste.

Recipe Notes

Look for sustainably caught shrimps.

Note: I do not believe anyone should worry about counting calories, but here is the nutritional information for one serving
Calories: 601kcal | Fat: 39g | Saturated fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 975mg | Potassium: 648mg | Carbohydrates: 44g | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 12g | Protein: 19g | Vitamin A: 1340% | Vitamin C: 10.3% | Calcium: 126% | Iron: 4.4%