Shrimp Salad à la Buttons

My mother, known by her nickname Buttons, is a cookbook collector, recipe reader, and very talented cook. While her projects in the kitchen are simpler these days, the dishes she is known for are an important part of our family legacy. When I asked my sister and brother which dish they most associate with Mom, the long list started: coconut bread pudding, Cajun smothered sausage, paprika potatoes, and sock-it-to-me-cake. However, they both lobbied for Mom’s crawfish salad, a springtime treat that Buttons still makes for special occasions.  I decided to welcome our first warmer days of spring with Shrimp Salad à la Buttons in her honor.

A Love of Cooking

Buttons learned the basics of Cajun cooking from her parents and then built upon that in her college studies and her long interest in cookbooks.  Over the years we witnessed her recipe boxes multiply as she gathered ideas for cooking.

As my mother shared her love of cooking with friends and family, she sometimes entered recipe contests with local groups, as this old typewritten copy of her crawfish salad shows.

When crawfish were scarce or after a family shrimp boil with bountiful leftovers, Mom would substitute boiled Gulf shrimp in the salad.

Shrimp Salad Comes Together

Instead of a family shrimp boil using a propane burner and 5 gallon pot, I downsized the cooking of the shrimp for the stovetop. I wanted to boost the flavor of the shrimp during their brief cooking period, so went heavy on the lemons and Old Bay Seasoning. After just 3 minutes of covered cooking, the shrimp were bright pink and perfectly cooked. I cooled them down while I prepared the rest of the salad ingredients.

The variety of chopped vegetables and eggs in the salad brings both contrasting textures—a little crunch, a bit of give—and layers of flavor to it. The vegetables and eggs are chopped in smaller bits—about 1/4 inch in size, while the shrimp get chopped a bit bigger. Once combined, they’re ready for the salad’s dressing.

This salad dressing riffs on Creole rémoulade, building flavors both creamy and tangy. Spiced with the zing of Tabasco, it brings a Cajun note to the shrimp mixture.

Serving the Salad

My mother always liked to present her food as beautifully as possible, so she served her salad on ruffled fresh leaves of lettuce and garnished it with bright red tomatoes and black olives.

During the summer when Creole tomatoes were in season, she used them as the vessel for the salad. Sectioning the tomatoes into six or eight equal wedges, almost to their core, she would open their crowns and place a generous serving of salad inside. This shrimp salad is also delicious served atop an avocado half.

We had our shrimp salad à la Buttons served over baby spinach leaves for dinner one recent evening.  The next night we ate the leftovers scooped up with tortilla chips as an appetizer.

However you might choose to serve this treasured part of my mother’s cooking repertoire, think of it as gift from her. I can’t be with Buttons on Mother’s Day this year, but all of us are certainly grateful that she has shared her love of good food–and this recipe– with us.

Shrimp Salad à la Buttons

Sunnyside Cook

Dawn Dobie

Gulf shrimp combine with crunchy vegetables and a creamy, tangy dressing for a very special salad.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Refrigerated time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

For the shrimp:

• 1 pound of extra-large raw shrimp (size 26-30) in their shells
• 4 cups water
• 2 lemons --see below
• 2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning

For the salad:

• 2 stalks celery finely chopped
• 1 cucumber peeled, seeds removed, cut in 1/4-inch dice
• 2 hardboiled eggs chopped
• 2 green onions white and light green part thinly sliced (set aside dark green tops for garnish)
• 2 or 3 inner leaves of head of lettuce torn into small pieces
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For serving:

• Lettuce leaves
• Fresh tomatoes
• Sliced green onion tops
• Sliced black olives

Instructions

 

For the shrimp:

• Place water in wide, somewhat deep saucepan. Cut one lemon in thin slices and add to water. Add the juice of the other lemon and Old Bay Seasoning to the water. Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Add shrimp to boiling, seasoned water and return to boil. Cover saucepan for three minutes, then drain shrimp in colander. Cool down shrimp with cold water. Peel shrimp and refrigerate while you chop the other ingredients.

For the salad:

• Combine the chopped celery, cucumber, eggs, green onions, and torn lettuce pieces in a large bowl. Chop shrimp into 1/2-inch pieces (cutting each shrimp into 4 or five sections), add to bowl and mix gently.
• In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, ketchup, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco. Stir until combined and then fold into into shrimp mixture. Season to taste with salt and add a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour and up to one day.

To serve:

• Place servings of salad on fresh lettuce leaves. Garnish with wedges of fresh tomato, sliced green onion tops, and black olives if desired.

Notes

To substitute crawfish for the shrimp, steam cleaned crawfish tails for 10 minutes.  Allow crawfish to cool before adding to chopped vegetables.

Adapted from Crawfish Salad recipe by Buttons Adamson.