The Shrimp Recipe You Asked For!

Easy and summer perfect

A bunch of readers have asked if I could post the shrimp salad recipe I wrote about in Mrs. McLoughlin. I’ve been reluctant to share recipes on America Eats! There are so many recipes sites where you’ll find what you’re looking for. In contrast, mine tend to be old, even ancient, or, like the shrimp salad recipe, very imprecise family heirlooms that require interpretation and leeway, if not patience, on the reader’s part.

But since you asked, here it is, my mom’s shrimp salad recipe. I found it handwritten on one of those stained, rumpled index cards always buried in family cookbooks.

Shrimp Salad for Two

2 cans of small cooked shrimp or 2 cups of fresh medium-size cooked shrimp

2 small celery stalks, diced

1 small onion, diced

1 bell pepper, diced

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard

3/4 cup mayonnaise, more or less

salt and pepper to taste

Lettuce, sliced and shelled hardboiled eggs, and summer tomatoes

Drain water from canned shrimp. If using fresh shrimp, roughly chop into bite-size chunks. In a medium size bowl, mix the shrimp with the celery, onion, and bell pepper.

In a separate bowl, mix together garlic powder, dry mustard, mayonnaise and salt and pepper. Taste and correct seasonings to your preference. Pour over the shrimp mixture and stir until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

To serve

Scatter lettuce—any kind will do—over a small plate then place a scoop of the shrimp salad in the middle. Surround it with the hardboiled eggs and tomatoes slices.

Dig in.