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Nordic Shrimp Salad on a platter surrounded by fresh dill, cucumbers and red onions.

Nordic Shrimp Salad

A healthy, protein rich salad with the lovely sweetness of shrimp, and the crunch from a confetti of finely diced vegetables are combined with a fresh and creamy dressing. This salad harkens to the shrimp salads of Scandinavia, are can be served on a bed of chopped lettuce, in lettuce cups, on toast, or even over avocado!
Course Main Course, Salad
Cuisine Swedish
Keyword poached shrimp
Prep Time 30 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Poached Shrimp

  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 2 lemons halved
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 handful fresh thyme leaves
  • 1 handful fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 3 tbsp seafood seasoning Old Bay or Zatarains shrimp boil
  • 1 1/2 pounds large or jumbo shrimp with shells, heads, and tails on

Nordic Shrimp Salad

  • 1 1/2 lb shrimp poached and cooled, coarsely chopped if desired
  • 1/2 cup finely diced cucumber see Notes
  • 1/2 cup finely diced celery
  • 1/3 cup finely diced radish
  • 1/4 cup minced red onion or to taste, if you want to use a little less
  • 2 tbsp fresh chopped dill plus more for garnish
  • 2 handfuls fresh lettuces chopped for serving

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/3 cup Skyr or Greek Yogurt
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2-3 tsp lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Poached Shrimp

  1. Fill a large pot with about a 6 cups of water, add the salt and squeeze in the lemon juice; toss the halves in there as well. Add the herbs and seafood seasoning. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and simmer for 5 minutes to infuse the water with the aromatics.
  2. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the shrimp. Simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes (depending on the size of shrimp you are using) or until the shrimp are bright pink and the tails curl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the poaching liquid to a bowl filled with ice. Let them chill thoroughly before peeling.

Nordic Shrimp Salad

  1. In a large bowl combine the cooled dry shrimp, and all the diced vegetables and dill.
  2. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, skyr and 2 tsp of the lemon juice. Add the mustard and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Taste and re-season as desired. Is the dressing too thick for your liking, add the remaining lemon juice.
  3. Pour the dressing over the shrimp and vegetables and toss to coat. Garnish with the remaining fresh dill.
  4. Divide the chopped fresh lettuce between the plates and serve the salad on the bed of lettuce.
  5. See blog post for additional or alternative ways to serve this Nordic Shrimp Salad

Recipe Notes

If using larger shrimp, you may want to coarsely chop for serving, not required though.
If you are using a larger cucumber with a dense seedy section, remove the seeds before dicing. The added moisture from the seeds will break down the dressing if you are wanting to store leftovers.
This salad will feed four comfortably, maybe even six if part of a larger meal.

Poaching Method adapted from Tyler Florence's found here.