Shrimp Pasta Salad

This recipe doesn’t have a long and exciting history for me. Well, not a long one anyway. I simply saw it while spinning through Pinterest and decided I wanted to eat it. At its base it is a simple macaroni salad with mayonnaise dressing, but it’s got shrimp and peas and a few other vegetables, too, all of which help to bump it up to something new and exciting for my kitchen.

It doesn’t matter what size shrimp you use to make this. If they’re bigger than you want, just chop them. I started with some medium-sized ones that I had on hand and chopped them into about ½-inch pieces, which fit in well with the elbow macaroni. You could also put more shrimp into the salad (the original recipe did), or more of anything else you like, really.

 

If you’re lucky enough to have some fresh peas, they would be as terrific in here as they are everywhere else. I used frozen sweet peas and they were good, too. Also, any kind of bell pepper will do. I used red because it was what I happened to have on hand, and I liked the color it added to the salad. I love dill, so, for me, it really makes this especially delicious, and especially spring-flavored. It’s great with shrimp and with peas and with macaroni.

 

This recipe makes a pretty hefty amount of salad for a two-person household like mine, but it held up really well in the refrigerator for a few days, which meant I had lunches ready for a good chunk of the work week. And I didn’t get tired of it either! It’s far too delicious for that. I think I may be on my way toward having a long and exciting history with this fresh and tasty salad.

Shrimp and Pea Macaroni Salad

Adapted from TheSeasonedMom.com

½ pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed

8 ounces elbow macaroni

¼ cup chopped green onion

1 medium-size red bell pepper, diced

1 cup diced celery

1 cup frozen green peas, thawed

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

1. To prepare the shrimp, cook in boiling water about 5 minutes (depending on the size of the shrimp) until fully cooked. They will be pink in color and firm. Drain and chill. Chop shrimp into about ½-inch pieces. Set aside

2. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until al dente or to the texture you prefer, about 8-10 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.

3. Place the shrimp and cooked macaroni in a large bowl. Add the green onion, bell pepper, celery, and peas, tossing to combine.

4. To make the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Whisk together to combine. Stir in the dill.

5. Pour the dressing on the shrimp mixture and stir gently to coat well. Chill 30 minutes or more before serving.

Makes about 8 servings.

One year ago: Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins