Roasted Shrimp and Potato Salad with Grapes and Celery

A savory and sweet, crunchy and filling late summer salad with roasted potatoes and shrimp, chopped celery, and whole grapes in a dilled yogurt-mayonnaise-lemon dressing.

I've been doing a lot of walking to train for a half marathon, and part of my walking has been to pick up milk at the local grocery store.  Normally I have Simon (the photobombing dog below) with me, waiting patiently at the dog tie up & water station, so I don't linger in the aisles.  The other morning, however, my daughter and I walked together, and after walking in the woods (just found out there's elevation changes on the course, so I need to get some hills in) she and Simon headed home and I headed to the store for milk (and to pad my mileage).  I had time to linger over the deli section, and two salads in particular caught my eye--a dilled shrimp, celery, and grape salad and a dilled lemon potato salad.

On the way home (lugging a gallon of milk is not the hassle it used to be--a side benefit of having kids who go through a gallon every 36 hours) I wondered what would happen if I combined the two salads and, for grins and giggles, roasted the potatoes and shrimp instead of boiling or steaming them.

Since the celery I'm regrowing in my garden is doing amazingly well (of course it is, since I'm only meh on celery by itself, though I love it in soup packs and to help stretch a pound of ground meat) I figured I'd try and combine the recipes.  Our farmers have a nifty new tool, a potato digger, and we've been getting lovely harvests of red potatoes lately, so I had most everything I needed.  I played around with my kitchen scale again, like I did in my Chicken Salad by the Ounce recipe, but this time in metric form.  The volumes in this recipe are my estimation of the weights I used.

Yes, I grew that celery and the dill. My bad self.

NOTE:  I created this recipe to be gluten free through my choice of ingredients. Check labels to confirm that your products are also gluten free. Good sources for determining that your products are gluten free can be found here:

http://knowgluten.me/2012/03/31/other-names-for-gluten/

http://glutenfreedoctor.com/gluten-free/

http://www.celiac.com/categories/Safe-Gluten%252dFree-Food-List-%7B47%7D-Unsafe-Foods-%26amp%3B-Ingredients/

Roasted Shrimp and Potato Salad with Grapes and Celery (serves 4)

500 g new potatoes (about a pound, and any non-baking variety will do, such as red skinned, yukon gold, blue or white)

olive oil (about a tablespoon), pinch of kosher salt, and a few grinds of pepper

200 g whole shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 2 cups by volume, these guys are the 31-40 size)

150 g plain yogurt (about 3/4 cup by volume--and Greek yogurt would work great here too)

30 g mayonnaise (about 1/4 cup by volume)

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh dill

zest of 1/2 lemon

80 grams celery, finely chopped (about 1 cup by volume)

125 grams red grapes (about 1 cup by volume)

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cube potatoes into large-yet-bite-sized chunks (we're not talking dainty hash cubes here, I mean bigger chunks). Place in a large bowl, and toss with a splash of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Empty into a rimmed baking sheet (don't clean the bowl yet).  Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven. Toss the shrimp in the remnants of oil in the bowl and add to the baking sheet with the potatoes.  Roast another 8 to 10 minutes until the potatoes are browned and the shrimp are opaque.  Set aside to cool down a bit.

In a large bowl (same one as before, if you've washed it in between) combine yogurt, mayonnaise, dill, and lemon zest.  Add the chopped celery and toss.  After the potatoes and shrimp have cooled somewhat (I like mine lukewarm or room temperature) toss them with the celery-yogurt mixture.  Add grapes, toss to coat, and taste to adjust seasonings the way you like it.

You can serve this over salad greens or just eat it straight off the plate like we did.  I prefer this at room temp, not chilled, but my son liked the chilled leftovers.

Do you think up recipes while you walk? Am I crazier to walk a half marathon or to routinely carry a gallon of milk a mile home?

This post is shared on the Wednesday Fresh Foods Link Up, What's Cookin' Wednesday, the From The Farm Blog Hop, Seafood Frenzy Friday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays and Food on Friday