Grapefruit and Shrimp Quinoa Salad

This dish was inspired by the delightful Spinach and Shrimp salad at Plates and Palates (a local eatery and cookware shop). Quinoa is becoming a side dish of choice for me and turning leftovers into a main dish lunch comes naturally. This salad is fresh tasting and filling at the same time.

Grapefruit and Shrimp Quinoa Salad
1/2 cup sliced sweet potato (cut 1/8" thick and then quartered)
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 cup cooked shrimp
1/4 cup chopped pistachio, plus more for garnish
2/3 cup grapefruit sections
2 tablespoons minced purple onion
1 cup spinach (or arugula or a mix of both)
Cracked pepper
Dressing:
1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon grapefruit zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon almond oil (or canola oil)
Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Place sliced potatoes into bottom and allow to cook without disturbing for about 2 minutes. Turn pieces over and cook another 2 minutes. There should be some light caramelizing on the slices. Remove form heat and set aside. In a mixing bowl, combine quinoa, shrimp, pistachios and purple onion. In another bowl, combine dressing ingredients and whisk well. Add potatoes to salad. Pour dressing over and toss to mix well. Place greens in serving dishes and top with salad. Garnish with cracked pepper and pistachios. Serves 2 as a main dish.

Hints: Dry roasting the potato works really well, they will have a slight crunch but the starch will have cooked enough to make them palatable. I don't pack the quinoa to measure it for this salad. I used frozen pre-cooked shrimp for convenience but if you have fresh shrimp available, try grilling them prior to using them in this salad. Sectioning a grapefruit is easily done by cutting off the peel and slicing one section out then holding the fruit in your left hand, slice down the left side of the next section to the left and scraping the right side off, allow it to drop into a bowl. Repeat working to the left until all section are removed. Squeeze the pulp remaining in your left hand into the bowl to capture the juice for the dressing. (See this recipe for another salad containing sectioned citrus fruit and this one for another quinoa salad.)

I like all of the food at Plates and Palates. They have a very nice way of doing things. My only complaint is that the salad dressings tend to be heavy on the sugar. But that is OK once in a while. Lovely paninis. Fun shopping for foodies like me. Who wants to go to lunch in Bountiful?