Food & Recipes: A little shrimp goes a long way in this summer salad

Summer entertaining doesn’t always involve firing up the grill or spending the afternoon in the kitchen. Some of the best warm-weather dishes are made ahead, tucked into the refrigerator and brought out like a cool, blissful surprise when guests arrive.

That’s one reason I love make-ahead dishes. When the work is done in advance, everyone gets to relax, including the cook.

This bright shrimp and white bean salad has been one of my favorite warm-weather recipes for years. It combines tender shrimp, creamy white beans, fresh herbs and a bright lemon marinade into a dish that feels special enough for company but simple enough for a weeknight dinner.

Best of all, a single pound of shrimp stretches beautifully to serve eight as an appetizer or four as a main dish, making it a delicious way to entertain without overspending.

Back when I first developed this recipe, shrimp felt like a luxury ingredient. These days, with the price of so many groceries climbing, shrimp isn’t necessarily any more expensive than many everyday proteins. Pairing it with beans makes a dish that feels both generous and practical.

This recipe is incredibly versatile. You can serve it with crackers or chips, spooned into lettuce cups for an easy appetizer, tucked into cute little tortillas for street tacos, piled over crisp greens for lunch or arranged over sliced avocado for a first course or light supper. Or, eat it straight out of the jar with a fork. I don’t judge.

Most recently I served it with cheese tortellini, cooked and chilled, and fresh spinach salad using the marinade as dressing for the pasta and the salad. It was easy and everyone loved it. It’s the kind of flexible recipe that earns a permanent place in the warm-weather rotation.

Best of all, it can be made hours ahead. That’s my favorite kind of entertaining food. While everyone else is cooking, you’re already on the patio with a cold drink.

Lemon Herb Shrimp & White Bean Salad

Servings: 4 to 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon old bay seasoning

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon celery seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

3 teaspoons fresh garlic, finely chopped

1 cup (packed) fresh herbs, finely chopped, such as parsley, cilantro or dill

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup red pepper, diced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

1 lemon, very thinly sliced

1 (14 ounce) can Great Northern Beans, drained

1 pound cooked, deveined medium shrimp

Procedure

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, old bay, salt, sugar, celery seeds, allspice and garlic. Then add fresh herbs, celery, red pepper, shallot, lemon and beans. Give that a good stir. Add the shrimp and stir, making sure it’s covered in marinade.

Place the mixture into a large glass dish with a lid or a couple of mason jars. Let this sit in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

This salad is best after 2 to 4 hours in the refrigerator, when the flavors have had time to mingle without changing the texture of the shrimp. Because the marinade contains both lemon juice and vinegar, the acids will continue to “cook” the shrimp over time, similar to ceviche. After a day or so, the shrimp become noticeably firmer. Still delicious, but not quite as tender as they are on the first day.