Shrimp Salad, Turkey Rissoles and Rhubarb Crumble

Well, I thought I was going to do some good cooking over the weekend and have some interesting recipes for you, but “the best laid plans of mice and men” as they say... Special thanks to Aspen Dental and their annual Service Day for all the dental work they did on me (and all the veterans) – even if I didn't feel up to cooking (or eating) for three days afterwards.

Sally's Birthday Salad

Sally's birthday was Wednesday, and after we came home from yoga class I made her this "everything she loves" salad to celebrate.

1 cubed fresh Mango

1/2 cubed Florida Avocado

1/4 cup fine diced Red Onion

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

3/4 lb cooked 21-25 Shrimp

1 cup Romaine lettuce, chopped

Cajun seasoning to taste

Dressing

Juice of 1 Lime

3 Tbsp EVOO

1 Tbsp Sugar

Shake to combine.

Lay down the Romaine as a bed and sprinkle the onion dice on top.  Arrange the mango on one half of the dish, and the avocado on the other half.  Put the bell pepper down the center.  Arrange the cooked shrimp around the rim, and dust with Cajun seasoning.  Chill until ready to serve.  Plate and dress.

Turkey Rissoles

I had a half pound of turkey sausage leftover in the freezer from a guest who wanted Scotch Eggs for breakfast and preferred poultry sausage. Turned into a nice mid-week dinner.

1/2 lb ground Turkey or bulk Turkey Sausage

1/4 cup finely chopped Mushrooms

1/4 cup finely diced Red Onion

1/3-1/2 cup Panko

1 large Egg, beaten

1 tsp Italian Seasoning, optional

Mix everything together, as you would for a meatloaf. Divide into two large patties about 3/4" thick, and fry them on medium heat, turning once, 6 minutes or so per side, until nice browned and cooked through.

Serve with your choice of sides.  I chose corn on the cob, but you could do a veg and starch if you want.

Brit-Style Rhubarb Crumble

Using rhubarb in that Swiss Chard and Sausage dish last week, got us thinking about a rhubarb dessert. I would have made a pie, but Sally asked for a Rhubarb Crumble like she remembered from her childhood This recipe is borrowed from the BBC website and translated from English to American.

10 sticks Rhubarb, sliced lengthwise and cut into 2”-3” pieces

8 Tbsp White Sugar

1 tsp powdered Ginger

4 oz Butter, softened

4 oz Brown Sugar

6 oz AP Flour

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Rinse the cut rhubarb, then spread it on a baking sheet and , dust with the white sugar. Bake for 10 minutes.

While that's going on, make the crumble. Mix the flour and brown sugar together, then cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers.

Spread the roasted rhubarb, about 1-1/2” deep, in an 8x8” square or 9” round baking dish, and dust with the powdered ginger. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of everything, then bake for 35-45 minutes or until the crumble is crispy and the filling is soft and bubbling.

Really, really tasty! Just sweet enough to counter the rhubarb tang. You could convert the Roasting step to 1-2 minutes in the microwave, which would cut the overall time by a few minutes (and reduce the oven-heating-the-kitchen).

In England they would serve this with spoonfuls of “double cream” (whipping cream), or with custard. Here we served it with a dollop of vanilla ice cream.