Rania's Recipes: Curry Lobster Cocktail & Quinoa, Red Pepper Salad

Summer is the perfect time for seafood and Rania Harris stopped by Pittsburgh Today Live today to show off two delicious recipes!

Curry Lobster Cocktail

• 1 pound cooked lobster meat – tails and claws
• 8 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for rubbing
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 3 oil-packed anchovy fillets, minced
• ¾ teaspoon curry powder
• ¾ cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• Salt
• 2 cups mesclun greens
• 1 Kirby cucumber, thinly sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Holding a lime leaf, pull off the stem to divide the leaf in half. Repeat with the remaining leaves. Rub the leaves with oil; transfer to a baking sheet. Bake for 8 minutes, until crisp.

In a small skillet, heat the 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the shallot and cook over moderately low heat until softened, 2 minutes. Mash the anchovies with the shallot. Add the curry powder and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and let cool. Stir in the mayonnaise, lime juice and dill and season with salt. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Fold the curry mayonnaise into the lobster. Serve the lobster salad over the greens; top with the lime leaves and cucumber.

Serves: 4

Quinoa, Red Pepper Salad with Avocado and Shrimp

• 1 cup quinoa – rinsed with cold water and drained
• Sea salt to taste
• 1 large clove of garlic ~ smashed to a paste with a bit of sea salt
• 1 large shallot ~ finely diced
• 1 jalapeno ~ seeded and finely diced
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (or more to taste)
• ½ cup + 2 tablespoons Greek olive oil
• 1 medium red pepper ~ halved ~ seeded ~ finely diced
• 1 medium English cucumber ~ peeled ~ seeded ~ diced into ¼" cubes
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• 3 ripe avocados ~ sliced
• 1 pound fresh shrimp ~ sautéed or grilled and seasoned with asprits of lime and olive oil
• Cilantro sprigs for garnishing

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the sea salt – don't be afraid to add plenty of salt ~ it should be good and salty tasting. Toss in the quinoa and cook for about 12 minutes ~ you want it to still have a bit of crunch when you taste it. Drain well and spread it out on a parchment lined baking sheet to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, shallot, jalapeno and lime juice. Season with salt and whisk well. Slowly, whisk in ½ cup of the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add more lime juice if necessary.

Combine the quinoa, red pepper, cucumber and chopped cilantro in a medium bowl. Drizzle with half of the vinaigrette and toss very gently. Add more vinaigrette to taste if needed.

Arrange the sliced avocado on each of six serving plates (1/2 avocado per serving). Season the avocado with salt and drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Spoon the quinoa salad on top of the avocado and top with grilled shrimp. Garnish with several sprigs of cilantro and serve immediately.

Serves: 6