Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Fresh yet smokey.Texture: The array of textures is the best part of this salad! You’ve got juicy, crispy, meaty, buttery, and tender. Ease: Quick enough for a weeknight meal. Appearance: Bright and scrumptious. Pros: Fresh, light, and tasty. Cons: None. Would I make this again? Mhmm.This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy.
During the Arizona summer grilling is a must. It may seem strange to want to grill when it’s well over 100° outside but it’s honestly better to spend a few minutes in the outdoor heat than to heat up the whole house by cranking up the oven and/or stove. Not to mention grilling saves a bunch of moolah in electricity costs. Keeping your house cool in the summer in Arizona is not cheap.
This recipe completely encapsulates summer in one plate. The grill is used to cook some of the veggies and give the salad that wonderful smokey smell and flavor. The shrimp makes it light and delicious. My favorite part has to be the grilled corn because it is so sweet yet smokey. If it wasn’t so blazing hot outside I would have enjoyed this salad on the patio.
Grilled California Chopped Salad with Shrimp
Ingredients
- 1 head of romaine lettuce, trimmed and halved lengthwise
- 1 ear of corn, husk and silk removed
- 2 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
- 12 extra-large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 head of butter lettuce, torn
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and cubed
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat.
- Drizzle the romaine lettuce, corn, zucchini, and shrimp with olive oil to coat. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Grill the romaine, turning occasionally, until crisp-tender and browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Grill the corn and zucchini for 2 minutes on all sides until crisp-tender. Grill the shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side, until opaque and cooked through.
- Coarsely chop the grilled lettuce and place in a large salad bowl. Use a large sharp knife to remove kernels from the corn and add to salad bowl. Chop grilled zucchini and add to bowl along with the shrimp. Add the butter lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado to the bowl.
- In a liquid measuring cup or small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.
This is my kind of salad! P.S., it was so nice to meet you at BTP! Let’s all have lunch or dinner sometime since we all live so close! 🙂
So nice to meet you!! Yes, I’d love that. We’ll have to make it a regular thing 🙂
Love your new look. Well done!