WHITE BEAN AND ROASTED SHRIMP SALAD

It's only recently that I've begun to appreciate Tyler Florence. For a while, I considered him Food Network's "Pretty Boy," but didn't really find his food all that.... During the winter when I could not longer walk outdoors and began to use my treadmill, I started walking during his program. A few of the dishes I watched him prepare made me take a second look and I ordered one of his cookbooks, Tyler's Ultimate. I have to be honest--I've liked about half the recipes I've tried. The other half have been just okay. Since we eat a lot of main dish salads in the summer, I decided to give this recipe a try. It took very little time to prepare and was enjoyable. I would make it again (all right, I gave it an 8 out of 10), though I doubt it will be included in the permanent rotation. I switched out watercress, replacing it with baby spinach.


Serves 2-4
1 lb large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
4 slices bacon, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
freshly ground pepper
8 fresh sage leaves (I sliced into a chiffonade)
1 pint yellow grape tomatoes (you can use red cherry or a mix)
1 - 14 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbs red wine vinegar
10 oz washed baby spinach

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange the shrimp in a single layer on half of a large baking sheet. Spread the bacon slices on the other half. Drizzle with olive oil. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and spread the sage leaves over all.

On another baking sheet, drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place both baking sheets in the oven. Roast the tomatoes about 12 minutes (until they burst) and the shrimp and bacon for 12 - 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, place the spinach and cannellini beans. Scrape the tomatoes and juices on top and toss to mix. Scrape the bacon and shrimp and any juices on top, drizzle with the vinegar and more olive oil. Toss to mix--this will wilt the spinach. Season with salt and pepper and serve.






I will admit that this is a beautiful dish and one that is healthy as well.