Mediterranean Shrimp Salad with Artichoke Hearts and Chickpeas

Circle B Kitchen

We used freshly cooked chickpeas (from dried) for this salad and felt like it made a really big difference in the the flavor and texture. The freshly cooked chickpeas were more tender and had a nice, bright flavor. You can certainly use canned chickpeas and this would still be great. You can also use already cooked shrimp, but again, there will be a bit of a sacrifice in flavor and texture.

Serves 4

½ lb raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 cups cooked chickpeas (see headnote)

1 ½ cups of sliced artichoke hearts

2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper

2/3 cup sliced kalamata olives

2 or 3 sliced green onions

5 or 6 asparagus spears

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley for serving

Dressing:

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar

1 clove of garlic, minced

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place an oven rack near the top of the oven. Place the shrimp on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast the shrimp for about 5-6 minutes or until just turning pink. Do not overcook. Set aside to cool.

In a medium-sized skillet, bring a couple of inches of salted water to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add the asparagus spears. Simmer the asparagus for about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan, rinse with cool water and slice into 2-inch lengths.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside.

In a large-ish bowl, combine the salad ingredients including the shrimp and sliced asparagus. Drizzle with the dressing, using only as much as you need to lightly coat the salad. Taste for salt before serving.

To serve, line a serving platter with leaves of romaine lettuce and place the salad in the center of the platter. Sprinkle the salad with the chopped parsley. If desired, scoop bites of the salad onto the lettuce leaves.