One Perfect Bite: Spanish Salpicon - Spanish Seafood Salad

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Spanish Salpicon - Spanish Seafood Salad

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This dish should not be confused with its Mexican cousin which is a spicy beef salad. The Spanish word salpicon means jumble or hodgepodge and while it was originally made with beef, these days the dish can also be made with seafood and seasonally fresh vegetables. The thermostat hit 96 degrees today and I viewed that as permission from the kitchen gods to scrap the hot meal I had originally planned, and substitute it with a cold supper. We were in Seattle last week and I brought home some wonderful Spanish olive that I thought would be perfect to use with a recipe for salpicon that came from a shop called The Spanish Table. While the salad can be made with any seafood, I used fresh shrimp and some mussels, along with ripe tomatoes and other summer vegetables, to make mine. This is a delicious salad that I'm told is popular in Spanish tapas bars. It is as pretty to look at as it is delicious to eat, and it will be interesting to see if my creation bears any resemblance to the ones that are served in the tapas bars. I promise I'll let you know. I do hope you'll give this salad a try. It lends itself to near limitless variation and I think you can come up with a personalized take on the recipe. It is a perfect course to serve on a hot summer night. Mine went to the table with a crusty Portuguese bread and a delicious green gazpacho. Do try this. Here is how Spanish Salpicon is made.

Spanish Salpicon...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of the Spanish Table via Pike Place Market

Ingredients:
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 English cucumber,diced
1 cup yellow grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cup red grape tomatoes, cut in half
1-1/2 pounds small shrimp, shelled, deveined, cooked and chilled
1 pinch fine sea salt
2 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
Place vegetables in a bowl. Add shrimp and toss with vegetables. Add salt to taste. Drizzle with vinegar and toss again. Drizzle with oil and toss for a final time. Adjust seasoning to taste. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Serve cold: Yield: 4 servings.