Maylee at Beyond Gumbo 
Here’s an easy “Shrimp & Pasta Salad” which is sure to please your family and guests. This recipe is a true Southern favorite, especially here in Louisiana. I love the combination of shrimp and pasta, such as shrimp fettuccine. For this dish, I combined chilled, boiled shrimp and pasta with a few other ingredients to make a knock-out salad entrée. There are many ingredients which can be added to the shrimp pasta salad; this particular recipe represents one of my favorite combinations.
Flavor is the Key
Since moving to Louisiana years ago, I have learned to enjoy many types of seafood. The spices, sauces and flavorful seasonings make all the difference in how the seafood dish tastes. Nothing is bland in Cajun country. Believe it or not, I had never eaten shrimp until moving to Louisiana. Shrimp does not “grow” in the western part of the state of Virginia. Imagine that! Over the years, my food tastes have changed and now I am a seafood lover! I have learned how to cook delicious fish and seafood dishes — especially shrimp concoctions.
Recipe
This recipe adds pasta, shrimp and a just a few other ingredients to make a delicious salad entrée. It is very easy to mix up and has turned out to be one of my best shrimp recipes.
This is a “make ahead” recipe. In fact, it is better if the dish is served chilled rather than warm. The flavors meld together if all the ingredients are prepped, then combined and chilled for several hours to overnight in the refrigerator.
Keeping flavor in mind, I added a few spices and seasonings to add “spark” to the shrimp and pasta salad. Otherwise, the concoction is very bland. However, my ingredients add subtle flavors. Nothing needs to overpower the shrimp. These seasonings included a pinch of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, spicy brown mustard, green onions, celery and vinegar.
Here are the ingredients for my salad:
Plus, for flavorful shrimp, I boiled the raw shrimp in Zatarain’s Shrimp & Crab Boil concentrate. Flavorful shrimp are a must! Sometimes I use my own spice blend (similar to a seafool boil blend) to obtain juicy and succulent shimp. This time I used commercial Zatarain’s Shrimp & Crab Boil. (A little of this potent liquid goes a long way — I used only 1 tablespoon in the boiling water.)
Ingredients which I omitted:
What ingredients didn’t make it into the recipe? I omitted garlic, dill seed, sweet pickles and yellow onions. All these ingredients outshine the shrimp and pasta.
Key Ingredients in the Shrimp & Pasta Salad
This dish includes several key ingredients:
- Flavorful shrimp is a must. I used small frozen, peeled shrimp (71 – 90 count). This package was 12 oz. (Ouch, they are cutting costs by decreasing package size.) You really need 1 lb of shrimp or two (12 oz) packages. After defrosting, I boiled them in the shrimp and crab boil until they were just pink in color. Don’t overcook the shirmp. Drain and let cool to room temperature.
2. Hard boiled eggs make up a “surprise” element in the salad. And, I included three eggs. This may seem like alot of eggs. However, the eggs pick up the flavors of the shrimp and dressing and add to the flavor of the salad. (I boiled and extra egg and saved that for garnish.)
3. Celery is an essential ingredient in this salad. The celery adds crunchy texture and flavor. I use both the stalk and the green leaves. Without the celery, this salad can become a “mushy” combination.
4. The green onions add a flavor “pop.” I use both the white part and about half of the green part of the onions.
To get things ready, chop up the celery and green onions. Boil the eggs, cool and chop. (Save the fourth egg for garnish.) Everything should be cut into bite size pieces. Mix them together in a large bowl.
Pasta Varieties and Cooking Pasta
For the pasta, “bite size” varieties of pastas work best. These include small sea shell pasta, small elbow macaroni, bowtie pasta (farfalle) and spiral or corkscrew (fusilli or rotini) pasta. It really is the cook’s choice of what variety to use to make this salad.
The key to boiling pasta is to use a large pot of salted water. Fill with plenty of water. And don’t forget to salt the water. This is the only chance to season the pasta — unsalted pasta is very bland. Cook just until a la dente. Then drain and rinse (to stop the cooking and remove excess starch). Place in a large bowl and stir to break up and cool. This recipe uses 1/2 of a 1 pound box of pasta. I measured out my small shell pasta; this is 2 cups of dry pasta. The pasta doubles when cooked and drained.
Salad Dressing
The salad dressing for this shrimp and pasta salad is a mayonnaise-based dressing. I used my favorite local brand of Blue Plate mayonnaise; but really any brand is fine. (I tried adding a little sour cream, but didn’t like this flavor and omitted it.) To add a little “bite” to the dressing, I added spicy brown mustard, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and a little vinegar. I thinned down the dressing with some milk. The pasta soaks up the dressing, so you need plenty of dressing. However, you don’t want things to be swimming in the dressing. so use moderation.
To make the dressing, mix everything together in a small bowl.
Finishing the Salad
Once all the ingredients are prepared (vegetables and eggs chopped, pasta cooked, shrimp boiled, dressing blended), the final step is to combine everything. First I combined the pasta and vegetables/eggs. Then I added and gently folded in the salad dressing. Last I mixed in the boiled shrimp.
The pasta soaks up the dressing as the salad chills. If needed make another partial batch of the mayonnaise-based dressing and stir in after the salad has chilled.
And so we have a great Louisiana entrée. Perfect for our hot summer months. Yes, I have learned to enjoy the secrets of southern Louisiana I hope you will too.
Best Ever Shrimp and Pasta Salad
Ingredients:
- 1 lb frozen raw, peeled and deveined small shrimp (71 – 90 count)*
- 1 Tbsp Zatarain’s Shrimp & Crab Boil concentrate**
- 1/2 lb (8 oz) small sea shell pasta (2 cups dry pasta)***
- 2 tsp salt, divided
- 4 large eggs (reserve one for garnish)
- 3 stalks celery with leaves, (1 cup diced)
- 4 large green onions, white and part of green tops (1/2 cup chopped)
- 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 – 1/2 additional if needed****
- 1 tsp spicy browne mustard
- 1 tsp Tony Chachere’s Creole seasoning or similar Creole seasoning
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 Tbso milk, as needed, to thin dressing
- leafy green lettuce, garnish
Method and Steps:
- Defrost the shrimp, if frozen, in small bowl of cool water or in refrigerator. If desired, devein the vein which runs down the center of the back of the shrimp.
- o boil shrimp, bring a large pot of water to boiling. Add 1 tsp salt and Zatarian’s Shrimp & Crab Boil. Add the shrimp. Return the shrimp to a boil. When the shrimp turns pink — this may take only one or two minutes — remove the pot from the heat. Then drain the shrimp — but do not rinse. Let the shrimp chill while preparing the remaining ingredients of the salad.
- Meanwhile, boil pasta. Add pasta to a large pot of boiling water, with remaining 1 tsp salt added. Boil until a la dente, according to manufacturer’s instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water (to stop the cooking and rinse of excess starch). Stir to break pasta apart and add to a large bowl.
- Prepare the hard boiled eggs: Add the eggs to a small pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil on the stove. Then reduce heat, and cook — just boiling — for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain water and cover with cold water. When cool enough to handle, peel and chop 3 of the eggs. Use the remaining egg for garnish. Set aside.
- Prepare the remaining ingredients. Dice the celery plus the leaves and slice green onions and half of the green tops. Set aside.
- Prepare the salad dressing. In a medium size bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard, Tony’s Chachere’s Creole seasoning and apple cider vinegar. Thin with one tablespoon of milk. Add a second tablespoon of milk, if needed.
- To finish salad: Add diced, celery, chopped green onions, diced hard boiled eggs to the cooked and drained pasta. Stir gently to combine. Pour the salad dressing over and use a rubber spatula to gently fold in. Fold in the boiled shrimp.
- Chill salad for several hours to overnight.
- To serve, line serving platted with leafy lettuce leaves.
- Garnish with remaining hard boiled egg, quartered.
*NOTE: If desired, may use 2 (12 oz) packages frozen shrimp (71 – 90 count
**NOTE: May make homemade seafood boil seasoning. See Recipe below.
***NOTE: May substitute other small size pasta such as small macaroni, bow tie or spiral pasta.
****NOTE: The pasta soaks up the dressing. If desired, make an additional 1/2 recipe of the salad dressing and add to salad after it is chilled.
Seafood Spice Boil Blend and Boiled Shrimp
Ingredients for Seafood Spice Boil Blend:
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1 tsp mustard seed
- 1 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp coriander seed
- 1/2 tsp whole cloves
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- (2 bay leaves (add directly to boiling water — see below))
Ingredients for boiled shrimp:
- 1 – 2 lb defrosted, raw peeled shrimp
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1 medium onion, peeled and cut into quarters
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 recipe seafood spice boil blend
- 2 bay leaves
Method and Steps for Seafood Spice Blend:
- Add all spices, except bay leaves, to a small bowl. Stir to combine.
- Transfer to a tea ball (also known as tea basket or infuser); close latch and lock in place. Alternatively place spices in small piece of cheesecloth and tightly tie closed.
Method and Steps:
- Defrost shrimp, if frozen.
- Add 3 quarts water to a large, heavy pot.
- Add lemon wedges, onion quarters, salt, bay leaves and seafood spice boil ball to the water in the pot. Bring to a boil.
- When boiling, add shrimp. Stir. Return to a boil. When the shrimp turn to a pink color, about 3 to 5 minutes, shrimp are cooked. (Cooking time depends upon size of shrimp.) Remove pot from stove.
- Let shrimp sit in pot of seasoned water on kitchen counter and steep for 30 minutes. Then drain shrimp in a colander. Do not rinse shrimp. Remove spice ball, bay leaves, onion and lemon wedges along with any lemon seeds.
- Use shrimp in recipe of choice, or chill and serve as cocktail.
What a nice dish for a summer get together!
I always get alot of complements when I bring this dish to a gathering. It’s a winner!