Bread Salad with Grilled Shrimp and Walla Walla Onions is a pleasing and delicious side dish to serve your family and friends. You will love this salad!
You may ask, what are Walla Walla Sweet Onions? Walla Walla sweet onions are grown in southeastern Washington. Sweet onions are juicier than storage onions because they contain more water. This means they’re softer and have to be picked and processed by hand.
More of Linda’s wonderful Salad and Salad Dressing Recipes.
- 2 to 3 thick slices day-old country-style bread
- 1/2 cup olive oil, extra-virgin, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 medium sweet Walla Walla onion, julienned*
- 4 or 5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves, lightly packed
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, freshly packed
- Coarse salt or sea salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
- 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and grilled
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted**
- 1/2 cup pecorino cheese, shaved (use a vegetable peeler)
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
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Shred bread into irregular bite-size pieces until you have 2 cups of bread pieces and place into a bowl.
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Heat 1/4 cup olive oil and garlic in frying pan on medium heat until garlic is sizzling but not brown, approximately 3 minutes. Pour the hot garlic and oil over the bread pieces, tossing to coat. Place the coated bread pieces on a cookie sheet and roast in your oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp at the edges and soft in the middle.
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Place toasted bread into a large bowl and toss with the onions, vinegar, the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, parsley, mint, salt, and pepper. NOTE: This dish improves after sitting at room temperature. Do not let it sit out longer than 2 hours.
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When ready to serve, grill shrimp by brushing them with olive oil, seasoning to taste with sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and placing on a hot grill for 2 minutes per side or until the shrimp turn pink and curl up.
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NOTE: Shrimp should always be cooked quickly in order to preserve their sweet, delicate flavors. They are very quick to cook, and the flavor can easily be ruined by overcooking. Most shrimp cook in as little as 3 minutes - when they curl and turn pink, they are done. Properly cooked shrimp are firm with a gentle curve shape (like the letter "C").
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Arrange salad mixture on a large family-style platter and garnish with pine nuts, grilled shrimp, and shaved pecorino cheese.
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Makes 4 servings.
* If you can not get Sweet Walla Walla Onions where you live, you may substituted other sweet onions such as Vidalia and Maui Onions.
** To toast nuts, heat in a dry skillet over medium heat until they start to brown. Stir occasionally. Be careful not to scorch them.
Source: Recipe by chef Vitoo DiLullo of Clao Vito Restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Recipe appeared in the Oregonian newspaper’s FOODay, Tuesday, July 12, 2005.