Summer Seafood Salad with California Ripe Olives

A cool and crisp, crowd pleasing salad that serves well as an entree or a lovely side dish for summer barbecues.

I cherish those blissful summer days when the windows are thrown wide open, inviting a gentle, warm breeze to meander through the house. The delicate strains of music create a harmonious backdrop as my family gathers on the patio, exchanging stories and laughter. And as the sun gracefully dips below the horizon, signaling the arrival of dinner, there's no better way to celebrate these idyllic summer evenings than with a refreshing, flavorful Seafood Salad.

While summer is typically barbecue season, there are evenings, in the midst of warm weather, that I crave a tasty seafood salad.

Not just any salad, but a salad with loads of fresh seasonal ingredients and then topped with a luscious seafood dressing and California Ripe Olives.

California Ripe Olives are always included in my salad ingredients – especially my seafood salads. These olives are a staple in my pantry and they make an ordinary salad taste extraordinary. The consistent curing process, which is proprietary to California Ripe Olives, results in a consistent taste in every olive. Which makes adding them to my recipes always a delicious option. 

Sumer Seafood Salad is a regular on my summer dinner menu. I like it best with Dungeness crab and Oregon shrimp. However, on occasion I use grilled salmon or even smoked salmon, grilled scallops or poached Gulf shrimp.

I also vary some of the fresh produce ingredients. Most often, I prepare this salad with a mixture of tender baby lettuce greens and crunchy romaine. For me, this is the ultimate salad combination. Then I add cucumbers, green onion and radishes because they pair so deliciously with seafood. 

This is a perfect summer salad that tastes best with a few fresh ingredients, well dressed, and then garnished with my favorite California Ripe Olives. 

*This is an ad sponsored by California Ripe Olives, all opinions are my own

Summer Seafood Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup mayonnaise

• 1/3 cup chili sauce

• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon chopped capers

• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

• 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish

• 2 good dashes of Worcestershire sauce

• 2 cups chopped fresh romaine lettuce

• 2 cups baby greens

• 1 cucumber, thinly sliced lengthwise, making ribbons

• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced

• 3 radishes, thinly sliced

• ½ cup sliced California Green Ripe or Black Ripe Olives

• 1 tablespoon capers

• ½ cup finely shredded cheddar cheese, optional

• 8 ounces fresh crab meat (canned is fine if you can’t find fresh. Just use a high-quality canned crab)

• ½ pound cooked small salad shrimp

• Lemon Wedges for serving
  

Directions

1.     Whisk together the mayonnaise, chili sauce, lemon juice, capers, chives, pickle relish and Worcestershire sauce. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2.     In a large bowl, combine the chopped romaine and baby greens. Add about a quarter of the dressing to the greens and toss to combine. Divide the greens among 4 plates. Top each salad with a few cucumber ribbons, sliced green onions, sliced radishes, olives, capers and cheddar cheese.

3.     Then top each salad with crab and shrimp. Drizzle a little more dressing over each salad and garnish with additional olives and sliced green onions. Serve with lemon wedges.

4.     To serve this as a side dish, place the dressed greens on a rimmed or shallow platter and layer with the cucumber, green onion and radishes. Then top with the olives, capers and cheddar cheese. Last, top with the fresh seafood and drizzle with additional dressing. Garnish with chopped fresh chive or green onion and additional sliced or whole olives. Serve immediately.