Oh la la! Smoky Shrimp Over Spinach with Pinenuts and Goat Cheese

This is one of my recipes where I wished I had a better camera to do justice to the "Oh la la!-ness" of this recipe. I got the original idea while eating a side salad with pinenuts, goat cheese and sundried tomatoes at a local Italian restaurant. I wanted to take the great combination of tart, creamy and nutty and make it into a full meal. I added smoky to the list of adjectives and Oh la la! Smoky Shrimp Over Spinach with Pinenuts and Goat Cheese was born!

Here's What You Need (Shrimp and Salad):
1/2 pound of medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1TBS of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pinenuts, toasted
2oz flavored goat cheese
Baby spinach (about half of the bag)
Here's What You Need (Dressing):
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and pepper


Here's What You Do:
Marinate the shrimp with paprika and cayenne and olive oil. Grill approximately 2 minutes per side on a hot grill pan or threaded onto a skewer on the 'real' grill. Whisk the dressing ingredients together, adding salt and pepper to taste. Don't skimp on the salt! Toss the dressing with the spinach, adding the sun dried tomatoes, pinenuts, and goat cheese. Divide among plates and top with shrimp. This is about 2-3 main courses or 4-5 sides. It can easily be doubled.

Kid Tip:
Cut up the spinach and shrimp into small pieces and toss along with a small quanitity of pinenuts, goat cheese, and sundried tomatoes into cooked whole wheat pasta. (Feel free to add or subtract ingredients depending on your children's tastes. ) This also makes a great pasta for leftovers the next day!