Patata y Camarón Ensalada

Do you speak Spanish? I don’t, so I had to have Google translate the title. A little back story here: Yesterday we took a day trip to Buffalo NY, not gonna lie, it was, again, for the food. Donuts this time. You see, we had just gotten word that our local Cider Mill was not going to open this season, as it has consistently done for more than 40+ years each September for apple season. This place is a gem, selling fresh made donuts every morning and cider pressed on site. I grew up just down the road from this place. Some of my fondest fall memories are centered here, riding bikes with friends, with whatever meager funds we could manage scrape up between us, for hot, fresh doughnuts straight out of the oven. Heaven. Long story short when we got the sad news, we went a little crazy. We hopped in the car and drove to Buffalo, to Paula’s Donut’s. Have you ever been to a Paula’s? 10,000 calories…Worth it. Then we headed on to Niagara Falls, because a couple of the boys had never seen it.

After doing a fair bit of walking around Niagara Falls we convinced ourselves that we had burned off the donuts, and since our kids had never eaten at Ted’s Charcoal Hots, we indulged in the most unhealthy meal in existence: chili dogs and onion rings. Looking back, I get ill just thinking about it. We never eat like this. The boys were begging for a detox all the way home. It used to be, when they were younger, I was the one begging them to eat healthier. Now the tables have turned and they will guilt, remind me to eat healthier if they feel we’ve overindulged. This is is simultaneously inspiring and annoying. But this post is not about donuts…or, God forbid, chili dogs, it’s about salad. Green salad. The green salad that my boys asked for. Since it was their ask, I let it be their recipe. We have this little game that we play called Spin the Globe. Sometimes when we are feeling uninspired by history lessons we will spin the globe and let the small fry put his finger one it, and the region it stops on is the region that we learn about that day. So we decided to put this to use with cuisine as well. So we spun the globe. It landed on the border of Spain and Portugal. They chose Spain and we were off. To the library, where we perused shelf after shelf of recipes books. We leafed through many and settled on these two.

After getting a feel for the flavor profile we decided a green salad with shrimp, patatas bravas and seared olives was the way to go. Then we just tossed in some extras, whipped up a super easy olive oil, lemon and garlic dressing, and dove in.

Here’s how to get started:

Gather greens, tomatoes, Asiago cheese, 3 or 4 eggs and red peppers. Put eggs in pan to boil.

For potatas bravas you’ll need:

Potatoes, olive oil, tomato sauce,garlic, paprika, crushed red pepper, black pepper parsley,

Toss some olive oil in a hot skillet, about 2 tbsps. Slice some potatoes, thin cut. I used a hand slicer. Cook them until brown and crispy. Add 2 tbsps of tomato sauce and dose heavily with paprika. Chop some garlic, throw in pan with potatoes, hit up with a bit of crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper and parsley, fresh or dried works.

For the shrimp and olives you’ll need:

Shrimp, fresh or frozen, olive oil, lemon, paprika, black pepper

Next, throw olive oil, olives, a squeeze of lemon, spanish paprika , and black pepper into a hot skillet cook for a few minutes then toss in shrimp, sear, and finish with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of spanish paprika.

My favorite is La Dalia. I normally purchase them three at a time through Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dalia-Sweet-Smoked-Paprika-Spain/dp/B0085WJOLG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3OY9IOLAP8F16&keywords=la+dalia+smoked+paprika&qid=1566924785&s=gateway&sprefix=la+dalia+smoked+%2Caps%2C1163&sr=8-4

Next, Toss some greens in a bowl, we used baby spinach and romaine. Then pour a half cup of olive oil into a bowl or salad dressing shaker add, two cloves of garlic, chopped finely, whip or shake, squeeze two lemons and add to dressing. Set aside. Slice red peppers.

Layer greens, potatoes, olives and shrimp in a bowl. Top with tomatoes peppers and egg slices. Drizzle with lemon garlic dressing. Grate Asiago generously over top. Dig in!

Tell us what you think of this easy throw-together salad. Whether you’re the kind of person who binges junk for a day or two and then takes a veggie break, or maybe you just need a fresh spin on your every day salad, this should put a smile on your face