Grilled shrimp, slices of avocado, shaved fennel and oranges are served over baby kale and mixed greens then topped with a citrus vinaigrette.
Spring is here, although today you would never know it with this crazy cold weather we are having in New York, but my allergies are kicking in to high gear and confirming that Spring is hear indeed. Just a few more weeks before the warmer weather approaches and I already started switching up my meals from those cozy comfort dishes to lighter salads.
This recipe is for my friend Raquel who texts me photos of her fancy dishes she eats when she dines out, then asks me how to make it. I told her I would try to recreate it for her, but wasn’t too excited about the idea of fennel. Because she raved about it so much, I bought all the ingredients anyway and to my surprise, the fennel didn’t bother me at all! I think the trick is that I shaved it real thin with my mandoline, and I loved the way it paired with the citrus and the grilled shrimp.
I felt like I was eating dinner at a fancy-shmancy restaurant, and kept thinking what a great dish this would be for Mother’s Day. My daughter Madison (yes, my three year old) enjoyed the salad too believe it or not! Here she is on Easter, she’s getting so big…
She liked everything except the avocado and baby greens, but ate all the shrimp, oranges and fennel, go figure! I packed the rest for lunch and leftovers tasted just as good as yesterday.
This salad is light and delicious, less than 300 calories, and perfect for Weight Watchers, Whole30, Paleo, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free, Low-Sodium and I’m sure others dietary restrictions I’m not familiar with. I am starting to label all the Clean Eating and Paleo recipes from my site for those of you who asked for this, you can see them in the column on the right. I have a lot to go through so it will take a while to get through them all.
Grilled Shrimp Avocado Fennel and Orange Salad
Ingredients
- 2 navel oranges, peeled and sliced
- 1 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (weight after peeled)
- 4 cups fresh arugula or baby greens
- 1 cup 1⁄2 small bulb fresh fennel, thinly sliced or shaved w/ mandoline
- 1 medium-size ripe Hass avocado, sliced thin
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 large navel orange, peeled and squeezed
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp minced shallots
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Combine the orange juice from one of the oranges, lemon juice, olive oil, shallots, kosher salt and pepper in a container with a tight-fitting lid and shake it vigorously to combine.
- Reserve 1⁄2 cup of the vinaigrette for dressing the salad and pour the remaining vinaigrette into a medium nonreactive bowl.
- Put the shrimp in the bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss; let it sit for about 30 minutes.
- Prepare your outdoor grill, or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
- Grill the shrimp until just cooked through and opaque, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
- Divide the baby greens on four plates, top with sliced fennel, oranges, avocados and shrimp.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette, about 2 tbsp per salad.
Last Step:
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Fabulous recipe!
We roasted the fennel, which was delicious, and also added fresh tarragon to the dressing. We did not include it in the marinade portion for the shrimp.
Everything came together perfectly. We will add a bit more avocado next time. We used half and should’ve used a whole one.
For those who drink wine, we paired it with a Sancerre which was lovely with it.
Turns out my husband and I love raw shaved fennel! The creamy avocado paired with the sweet juicy orange and mild herbaceous fennel…definitely a winning combination that will be repeated in this house!
Great!
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This recipe!!! ? I added a sprinkle of goat cheese and it was a huge hit at our house!!
Sounds yum!
I have made this recipe 4 or 5 times and it never fails to impress. It's perfect for serving company because it's lovely to look at and tastes scrumptious. No one has a clue that it is low fat or "diet". Today is such a hot summer day and because we are wilting, we look forward to eating our fennel, shrimp and citrus salad!
I made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing. The perfect match of ingredients, simple and quick to make.
Just made it for lunch. So I had your wholemeal pancakes for breakfast and this salad for lunch. No disappointments so far. I used normal iceberg lettuce instead of baby greens and didn't have fennel…which probably defeated the purpose but it was so yum and filling! Thank you so much x
Your daughter is adorable!
I made this today for lunch and you did a great job re-creating your friends dish. The flavors of this salad are amazing.
Thanks and thank you!!
You got me with the orange vinaigrette, I love it! I'm curious to taste it with the fennel, sounds interesting. What a gorgeous dress Madison has, I love those circle layers!
Thank you! Target. 🙂
That DRESS! My daughter is 22 but I remember her idea of "the best thing ever" was a pretty dress she could twirl in 🙂
Oh, an the salald looks great too
I remember my 19 yr old loving to twirl in her dresses when she was younger.
That looks scrumptious, and wow what a CUTE dress!!
Target!! 🙂
Making this as my dinner tonight! Adding some grilled asparagus to the plate!
I can't wait to try this recipe! My only question is by "squeezing the orange" doesn't that take away the shape – your photo looks great! Thank YOU for all your wonderful posts!
I thought one orange for juicing for the dressing and one for slicing for the plate? I didn't peel/slice the one I juiced, just cut in half and juiced.
I only squeeze one for the dressing, the others get sliced. Was that confusing in my directions?
Isn't it THREE oranges all together?? Two for slicing and one to juice for the vinaigrette??
Correct, I for juicing, 2 for slicing.
I love fennel and this salad looks amazing! Love all the flavor combinations you have going on in it! Just beautiful!!
I can't wait to make this! Do you know about how many shrimp you had on each salad – I just cook for one so I don't think I need a whole pound of shrimp 🙂 Thanks!
I think it was 7 large shrimp on each salad.
Thank you Gina for re-creating this wonderful dish I fell in love with at my local to-die-for Italian restaurant which was served with a yummy halibut steak. I have since made this twice adding sliced kalimata olives for an extra tasty surprise and a broiled salmon as well and was amazing!!I fell hard for fennel and was pleased to discover it is rich in Vit C, Fiber, Folate and Potassium. It is used in herbal medicinal treatment for disorders of the digestive tract, respiratory congestion and cough, heartburn, angina, lower blood pressure asthma and even boost libido!! It is helpful in easing anxiety and depression, and as a pain and fever reducer. To top it off is a natural diuretic to reduce water retention as well as a great appetite supressant!! I may just be carrying sliced fennel with me and add to everything or simply eat as is (it is a great palate cleanser and freshens breath)! I am happy to have been a part of your inspiration to make this wonderful, easy, delicious and health promoting dish and pass on to your loyal following (like me)! I especially love that Madison enjoyed it as weel!! SCORE!!!
Wow, even more reasons to love this salad, thanks for sharing all that info Raq!! Will have to use it in more recipes soon!!
This sounds like such a wonderful spring-y salad! I especially love the fennel in there! 🙂
The orange juice vinaigrette is the perfect compliment to this salad, thanks for this great recipe!
Shrimp and avocado are a perfect pairing. Maybe I'll have to drop a hint to my husband and kids to make this for Mother's Day. Your daughter is absolutely adorable and she is rocking that cute dress.
Thank you, she certainly was!
Great spring and summer salad. Avocado goes so well with citrus. By the way, that is a beautiful photo of your daughter. Love the dress.
Thank you!
Yum, this looks so fresh! I'm always hesitant to mix avocado with fruit. I don't know why because I love a healthy squirt of lime on my avocado when I eat tacos.
Looks fantastic, just the kind of salad I love!
How cute is that dress she's wearing I love it!
OMG! That looks sooo good! I will def try it! It's perfect for the warm spring days! 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I make something similar to this but without the fennel. I think the fennel is a great addition! I'll give it a whirl soon…
What a perfect salad for spring and summer!!
This sounds fantastic for summer. Do you know how many PP the dressing would be on it's own?