Cold seafood salad at the seashore is one of my favorite summer traditions. While strolling the beach has been curtailed this season, I still satisfied my craving for one half of that hot-weather combo.
One of my favorites is this shrimp salad sandwich that plays like a homage to the lobster roll. It delivers that same juxtaposition of a chilled, creamy concoction tucked inside a warm, crispy buttered bun.
Traditional lobster rolls are pretty mild, letting that pricey crustacean be the star with just a few ingredients, such as mayonnaise, parsley and lemon. I take a few liberties with the concept. For one, I add corn into the mix because I love the bit of sweetness and color it gives to the salad.
I started doing this back home in New Orleans, where I usually made this shrimp roll with leftovers from a summer boil that included very spicy corn on the cob in the big pot.
With the spiced-from-the-boil ingredients, the mixture had kick from the get-go. To get closer to that level of heat with stove-top boiled shrimp and frozen corn, I added more hot sauce this time as well as horseradish and cayenne. It delivers that same little tingle on the tongue.
If you like it milder, cut back a bit on those, combine the salad and then adjust the spiciness to suit your taste.
The salad tastes great on lettuces and on crackers, but I like it best on a griddled, top-split hot dog bun. It only takes a couple of minutes to brush the bread with softened butter and toast it facedown in a skillet until it is golden.
The salad can be prepared a day ahead — in fact, it tastes even better after it rests a bit — but save the bun toasting until just before you serve the sandwich.
Storage: The shrimp salad can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Make ahead: The salad tastes best if refrigerated for at least 30 minutes before serving