This recipe was a winning dish for our 2021 Healthy Chef Challenge. Angie Montroy of Angie's Pantry in Oak Park used ingredients commonly found in our pantry and created an inspiring summer salad.
Garnish:Sprinkle salads with toasted sesame seeds & extra fresh cilantro. Optional.
1. Prep salad ingredients through green onion. Refrigerate until you're ready to assemble.
2. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt and 2 t. cider vinegar. Blanch collard greens for 2 minutes & drain. Plunge into an ice bath to quickly cool the greens and retain the bright green color. Drain well and spin in salad spinner to remove extra water. Gently mix with the hydrated rice noodles. Cover and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble.
3. Heat a non-stick skillet and add 2 teaspoons of canola oil. Cook the shrimp in the hot skillet for 3-4 minutes, until the shrimp has turned totally pink. Remove from heat and add the red chili paste to the shrimp, stir to coat. Cool completely.
4. Add all salad dressing ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
5. Assemble your salad. Divide the romaine among 4 salad plates. Divide the rest of the salad ingredients among the 4 plates. Top each salad with 5 shrimp and serve the dressing on the side.
6. Enjoy!
*Substitute chicken for shrimp if cooking to accommodate a shellfish allergy.
Angie Montroy of Angie's Pantry Inc. Visit angiespantry.com for information on meal services and catering.