Life

How To Make Tia Mowry's Summer Shrimp Salad This Season

by Megan Shepherd
Lemon Lemon

Tia Mowry’s added a few new titles to her name since her Sister, Sister days: model, mother — and now — chef! To celebrate the sunny days of summer, Tia teamed up with sparkling beverage company Lemon Lemon to develop a few recipes inspired by their spritzy drinks. And honestly, I'm ready to add Tia’s Summer Shrimp Salad to my warm-weather meal prep line-up right now. Read on for a look at how to make Mowry’s Summer Shrimp Salad.

Born in Germany and raised in Hawaii, Mowry is no stranger to the flavors of the world, and the influence of her travels regularly shows up in her cooking. “When the ocean is your backyard, you’re introduced to so many different types of seafood," She tells Bustle. For Mowry, growing up with fresh seafood in Hawaii had a heavy hand in the creation of the shrimp salad recipe, along with many of the others you’ll find in her cookbook, Whole New You, and her forth-coming YouTube series, “Tia Mowry Quick Fixes.” From rich, savory dishes to light and zesty salads, Mowry’s not afraid to embrace fresh, natural foods.

"I grew up with my dad grilling a lot. We’d camp on the beach on the weekends, and he’d get in the ocean and go spearfishing," Mowry continues. "He’d catch eel and things like that, then bring it back to the house and grill it. So I grew up eating seafood, and shrimp is definitely one my favorites. It’s the Bubba Gump shrimp kinda thing — boiled, sautéed — I like it all."

Additionally, Mowry adds that shrimp has one very important component: Simplicity. "Grilling shrimp is really easy. It takes like 3-5 minutes on each side, on then you’re done!”

Lemon Lemon

When it comes to cooking, Mowry says finding time to check out and get deep into a project is half the fun — especially when you’re cooking with someone you love. For Mowry, whose parents were both in the army growing up, that meant spending quality time with her mom in the kitchen.

“I started in the kitchen with my mom, and I became her sous chef around 10 or 21. During holidays, I’d be in there cutting up collards, washing and seasoning chicken before it was thrown on the fire. It was bonding time for my mom and I.”

Now that Mowry is mom to son Cree, she’s instilling the same love for food in him through easy, made-with-love meals and hands-on time in the kitchen. It’s an easy way for her to hang with Cree, and cook up food her family will love — like her go-to kale and almond fried rice.

“I love it because you can use rice you cooked the night before — I use brown, but you can use white if you want.” The recipe starts with throwing the rice in a wok, seasoning generously with garlic and sesame oil, then tossing in fresh kale and almonds to marinate. “It’s an amazing, filling dinner."

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This ‘toss it in and see what happens’ approach seems par for the course for Mowry, who isn’t afraid to get creative with her cooking. When it comes to recipe development, she’s all about experimentation. Mowry scours Pinterest for ideas just like the rest of us, then heads to the kitchen for some trial and error. No recipe is safe from zany riffs — like her signature spaghetti and meatballs made with turkey instead of beef, and oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs.

“After two or three times trying it out,” Mowry explains, "I’ll consolidate my ideas, and i’m like, ooh, that’s it.”

It’s this type of thinking that lead Mowry to her Lemon Lemon summer shrimp salad recipe — a zesty play on a light alfresco lunch. For more recipes from Mowry, keep an eye out for her new web-series, launching on YouTube this fall. But until then, make the most of these warmer days with this easy shrimp salad. According to Mowry, “it’s all about enjoying the summer.”

Tia Mowry's Lemon Lemon Summer Shrimp Salad

Lemon Lemon

INGREDIENTS

For the shrimp:

1/2 cup LEMON LEMON™Original

½ lemon, juiced

1 tsp. garlic powder

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

8 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails left on)

For the vinaigrette:

1/2 cup LEMON LEMON™ Original

1 clove garlic, minced or grated

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1 head butter or bibb lettuce

1 avocado, diced

1 ripe tomato, diced

1/4 cup pitted black olives

2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare a grill for medium heat.

2. In a bowl, combine the LEMON LEMON, lemon juice, garlic powder and a pinch each of sea salt and pepper. Add the shrimp and toss to coat well.

3. Thread the shrimp onto metal skewers, then lay the shrimp on the hot grill and cook until cooked through (the flesh will turn opaque) and grill marks form, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

4. When cool enough to handle, pull the shrimp off the skewers.

For the vinaigrette:

1. Add the LEMON LEMON, garlic and a pinch of kosher salt and pepper to a large bowl. Whisk together, then slowly stream in the olive oil while whisking. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

For the salad:

1. Add the lettuce, avocado and tomato to the bowl with the dressing. Toss to coat well, then transfer to a serving bowl or platter, leaving any leftover vinaigrette in the bowl.

2. Top the salad with the olives, goat cheese and shrimp. Drizzle the leftover vinaigrette in the bowl over the shrimp. Serve immediately.