Easy Prawn and Red Grapefruit Salad with Almonds
For a salad that looks as beautiful as it tastes, try this quick and easy prawn and red grapefruit salad with almonds. The pretty pinks of the prawns and grapefruit segments make this the perfect salad to impress your friends. Ideal as an appetizer or a light main course.
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Prawn and grapefruit salad ingredients
To make this refreshing grapefruit salad you’ll need:
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (juice of one medium orange)
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon grated orange rind
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Prawns or shrimp?
What do you call the tasty pink crustaceans in this salad? Prawns and shrimp are actually from different families of crustaceans and have some scientific differences. Here in Australia, and in New Zealand and the UK, we tend to call everything prawns. If you are in the US, you might call them shrimp instead (with prawns being used to describe large freshwater crustaceans). Despite some technical differences between the two, both are good sources of protein and taste delicious. So use whichever is available where you live and by whatever name you call them.
Fresh red grapefruit
You might think that the prawns are the star of this salad, but it’s actually the grapefruit! The sweet but tangy red grapefruit juice and segments not only give the unique flavour burst, but they really make this salad pretty. It’s perfect for a summery lunch or dinner with friends.
I’ve used a grapefruit variety known as Ruby Red. You could use any variety of pink or red grapefruit in this recipe to get the same effect. Or if you can’t find a pink or red variety, the standard yellow grapefruit will also taste delicious. I definitely recommend using fresh grapefruit in this recipe for the flavour, but if you struggle to find fresh fruit you could use pre-packaged red grapefruit segments.
Green onions or spring onions or shallots or scallions?
This is another ingredient that can be confusing depending on where you live. The onion flavour we need in this recipe comes from the sliced thin white and green stems of green onions (that don’t have a large onion bulb on the end). In Australia they are often sold as spring onions, just to make it more confusing.
Method
Use a zester to zest the skin of one grapefruit. Then cut the same grapefruit in half and juice.
To make the salad dressing, use a small bowl and whisk the grapefruit zest, juice, extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar and sugar together. Or for a quick and easy method, place the salad dressing ingredients in a small jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well to combine.
Place the prawns in a dish and cover with half of the salad dressing mixture, tossing to combine. Cover and set aside for at 15 minutes to marinate.
Wash and thinly slice the green onions (green shallots). Halve the cucumber and remove the seeds with a spoon before dicing.
Cut the second grapefruit into segments and set aside. See our separate post for step by step instructions on how to cut citrus into segments for using in salads.
Assemble the salad just before serving. Toss the mixed lettuce, cucumber and spring onions with the rest of the salad dressing. Top with the marinated prawns and grapefruit segments and sprinkle with almonds for garnish.
*Note: If you need to cater to nut allergies and can’t use almonds, just substitute with an allergy friendly nut substitute like pepitas (pumpkin seeds).
This red grapefruit salad looks amazing in a large shared bowl or platter, or divide evenly between 6 serving plates if you would like to serve individually.
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Easy Prawn and Red Grapefruit Salad with Almonds
Equipment
- 1 chopping board
- 1 sharp knife
- 1 small bowl or lidded jar
- 1 medium bowl or dish
- 1 citrus zester
- 1 citrus juicer
Ingredients
- 2 pink or red grapefruit (1 for zest and juice, 1 to slice into segments)
- 300 g cooked prawns (peeled, deveined, tails on)
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 100 g mixed lettuce or green salad leaves
- 1 Lebanese cucumber, deseeded and diced
- 2 green onions (green shallots), finely sliced
- 2 Tablespoons slivered almonds
Instructions
- Use a zester to zest the skin of one grapefruit. Then cut the same grapefruit in half and juice.
- To make the salad dressing, use a small bowl and whisk the grapefruit zest, juice, extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar and sugar together. Or for a quick and easy method, place the salad dressing ingredients in a small jar with a tight fitting lid and shake well to combine.
- Place the prawns in a dish and cover with half of the salad dressing mixture, tossing to combine. Cover and set aside for at 15 minutes to marinate.
- Wash and thinly slice the green onions (shallots). Halve the cucumber and remove the seeds with a spoon before dicing.
- Cut the second grapefruit into segments and set aside. See our separate post for step by step instructions on how to cut citrus into segments for using in salads.
- Assemble the salad just before serving. Toss the mixed lettuce, cucumber and spring onions with the rest of the salad dressing. Top with the marinated prawns and grapefruit segments and sprinkle with almonds for garnish.
