Cajun Shrimp Pasta Salad

Ingredients

• 1½ lb. shrimp, peeled
• ¼ C frozen peas
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 12-oz package medium shell pasta
• 5 tbs mayonnaise or salad dressing
• 80 ml olive oil
• ¼ C balsamic vinegar
• 1 C Zatarain's Shrimp, Crab, and Crawfish boil
• Louisiana hot sauce to taste
• 2 green onions, chopped (divided use, optional)

Directions

1. Peel the shrimp and set them aside.
2. Add the crawfish boil mixture to 3 qt of water and bring to a rolling boil. The crawfish boil mixture is fairly spicy and salty, so you may wish to add slightly less, as per your taste.
3. Add the peeled shrimp. Cover and remove from heat and allow the shrimp to steep for about 10 minutes.
4. Remove the cover and add the frozen peas and replace the cover. Steep another 10 minutes and drain.
5. In a separate pot, cook the pasta according to the package instructions.
6. In a separate bowl, make an emulsion of the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and fold into the mayonnaise/salad dressing.
7. Add Louisiana hot sauce to taste and mix well.
8. Combine the shrimp, peas, pasta, celery, onions (if used), and dressing and mix well.
9. Chill thoroughly and garnish with chopped parsley or chopped green onions.

Chef's Notes

• For a lighter alternative, skip the pasta and serve the shrimp salad in an avocado split in half