Seafood and broccoli salad recipe with curry yogurt dressing
On the day I made this dish to photograph -- the third time we ate this salad in one week -- I intended to go to the fish market and buy a beautiful melange of scallops and mussels and maybe some chunks of salmon, and mix them all together with the broccoli and curry yogurt dressing. I intended to go, but I didn't. So, I made the salad with large shrimp I had in the freezer, and it was every bit as good as the mixed seafood, which proves that a great salad dressing can snazz up any ingredients you toss with it. Let your imagination, and the fishmonger, guide you, and combine any fish and shellfish with crisp broccoli florets, lightly blanched, and some toasted cashews (or pine nuts, or even chickpeas) and raisins. The dressing keeps in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, which should be ample time to get to the fish market.
Seafood and broccoli salad with curry yogurt dressing
From the pantry, you'll need: plain yogurt, mayonnaise, curry powder, turmeric, Dijon mustard, agave nectar, lemon, raisins, cashews.
Serves 4.
Ingredients
For the dressing:
1/2 cup plain lowfat yogurt
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1/2 tsp sweet curry powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp agave nectar
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp minced scallions
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh black pepper
For the salad:
1 lb seafood: large shrimp, scallops, chunks of white fish or salmon, mussels, or a mix
2 cups broccoli florets
1/4 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes (optional), for garnish
Directions
In a mixing bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a small saucepan.
Set a bowl of ice water next to the stove.
Add the shellfish or seafood to the saucepan, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 2-3 minutes until the fish is opaque, or the shrimp are pink and curled. Remove with a slotted spoon, and transfer to the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain, dry on a paper towel to remove excess water, and add to a mixing bowl.
Bring the water in the pot back to the boil. Blanch the broccoli for 2 minutes, until it is bright green and barely cooked. Using the slotted spoon, transfer to the ice water bowl to set the color and stop the cooking. After a minute or two, drain, and add the broccoli to the bowl with the seafood.
In a small, dry, nonstick frying pan, toast the cashews over medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes, tossing occasionally, until lightly browned. Add the nuts to the seafood, along with the raisins.
If you're going to garnish with coconut, toss the flakes in the same frying pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove from the pan and add to the seafood.
Gently stir in as much of the curry yogurt dressing as you like; save any extra for another salad.
Refrigerate the salad until ready to serve.
More reasons to buy the large size container of yogurt:
Lemon yogurt waffles
Raita (Indian yogurt and cucumber condiment)
Apple smoothie with yogurt, honey and cardamom
Chicken tikka
Lemon berry yogurt parfait
Other recipes that use these pantry ingredients:
Mushroom yogurt curry, from Monsoon Spice
Zucchini latkes with yogurt-curry sauce, from Cookin' Canuck
Curry turkey salad, from Simply Recipes
Curried egg salad, from 101 Cookbooks
Spicy, authentic tofu curry, from Blue Kitchen
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This sounds so delicious! I am especially enchanted by the idea of turmeric in the dressing!
I made broccoli-cashew salad for today, too, but yours is more exotic!
Kalyn, turmeric is supposed to be good for health, and I should use it more often than I do. Of course, it gives the dressing a glorious golden glow!
Mimi, this salad might sound exotic, but it's made from ingredients you surely have in your pantry. And I even used shrimp from the freezer!
Dang, I shouldn't have used the rest of the coconut in granola. I've been craving a curry yogurt dressing since the weather warmed up.