During the summer, I am always looking for great ways to incorporate seafood into the meal, but also attempt to keep the meal light and  nutritious.  Access to great gulf shrimp in Florida is a constant source of inspiration.  Along with the food, it’s equally important to find the right wine.  For this post, I teamed up with Pacific Rim to find a wine that would pair up nicely with a fresh, delicious meal during the hot summer months.  I’ve always thought that Rieslings were quite sweet, but Pacific Rim offers a large variety from the Columbia Valley in Washington.  In determining the right wine for this meal, I selected one of their dry Riesling selections which is very affordable, and not sweet like some other Rieslings you may have tasted.  It complements the seafood and summer vegetables in the salad with light notes of citrus and peach and accommodated the roasted red bell pepper dressing.  This food and wine pairing would be a wonderful way to enjoy a patio dinner while inviting an elegance and balance to the table.  Bon Appetit!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

for salad:

  • 12 jumbo shrimp, peeled deveined
  • 8 oz mixed baby greens
  • 1 romaine heart, sliced
  • 2 ears fresh corn
  • 1 cup cherry, grape or san Marzano tomatoes, sliced
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/4 cup olive oil, divided

for dressing:

  • 2 roasted red peppers, peeled and seeded (directions below, substitute, store-bought)
  • 1 shallot, peeled, roughly chopped
  • 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
  • kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

for dressing: Preheat oven to 400.  Line a baking sheet with foil, slice peppers in half.  Lay them, cut side down on foil.  Roast for about 30 minutes until skin chars, turning black and begins to separate from flesh.  Remove from oven, wrap in foil and allow to seal and cool, leaving oven on.  This will enable skin to peel right off.  Place in food processor, along with other ingredients and process until smooth and no chunks remain.  Set aside.

prepare salad:  Place trimmed asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil to coat.  Season with salt and pepper and toss.  Roast in oven for about 10 minutes until right green and tender. Set aside.  In a grill skillet, heat another tablespoon of oil to medium and place corn husks on skillet.  Turn every few minutes until corn begins to char in various areas.  This takes about 7 minutes.  Once corn is cool enough to handle, hold it vertically, and with a sharp knife cut along side the cob to remove chunks of corn,  In the same skillet, heat remaining oil.  Pat down the prepared shrimp and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning and dust with a bit of flour if necessary to absorb any remaining moisture.  Heat oil to medium high and add shrimp searing for 3-4 minutes per side.

assemble salad:  Distribute greens among plates.  Arrange roasted asparagus in star-like formation around salad plate.  Distribute corn evenly among plates, along with black beans and tomatoes.  Place 3 shrimp in the center of each plate.  Spoon red bell pepper dressing on salad and vegetables, with extra on the side if desired.  Serve immediately and enjoy!