This recipe makes for a delicious light meal and engages all 5 Tastes. I love the subtle anise flavor note of tarragon or chervil mixed with shrimp, crab, or lobster. Aioli and tarragon take this shrimp salad to a different level from ordinary shrimp salad. The aioli recipe from Epicurious.com is delicious and highly recommended, but if you don’t have the inclination to make the aioli from scratch, substitute the “quick aioli” recipe below and save yourself some time and effort. Lobster or crab are great substitutes for the shrimp. Experiment and make this special seafood salad your own!

Aioli Shrimp Salad with Tarragon
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

Kosher salt
8 ounces shrimp (either salad shrimp or 21-25 count shrimp chopped)
½ cup Aioli recipe (see *Note)
2 tablespoons celery
1 ½ tablespoons red onion
1 teaspoon dried tarragon (1 tablespoon fresh)
½ teaspoon Old Bay spice
2 tablespoons celery
3 teaspoons minced gherkins or sweet relish
Optional: kick-it-up-a-notch with a garnish of minced red Serrano pepper.

Preparation:

Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; season lightly with salt (optional: throw in a bay leaf, a few black peppercorns and a few red pepper flakes)
When the water comes to a boil, add the shrimp and poach for 2–3 minutes. Drain and transfer shrimp to a medium bowl of ice water to cool.
Whisk aioli, celery, tarragon, red onion, Old Bay spice, and gherkins (or sweet relish) in a medium bowl to blend; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Chop the shrimp into small pieces (about 1/3-inch) and add to the bowl with the aioli mixture. Stir to coat. (The shrimp salad can be made 1 day ahead, covered and chilled in the fridge.

Serve the shrimp salad on a bed of lettuce or a toasted roll or slice of good bread.

Wine Pair: Chablis, Sauvignon blanc, Vermentino, Albariño

*Note: If you don’t want to make your own aioli, you can easily make a “quick aioli” which tastes surprisingly like made from scratch aioli.

Quick Aioli

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1-2 garlic cloves (finely minced or grated and mashed to a paste with a pinch of salt)
1 tbs. olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard (optional)
3-4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (to taste)
Pinch of salt (to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Combine the ingredients and mix well.

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https://www.bonappetit.com/story/what-is-aioli
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/aioli-107026