Stay cool with this shrimp salad

The snap of chilled shrimp is just the right bite on a hot summer day — refreshing you as it satisfies your appetite. This shrimp salad builds on that feeling with two additional cooling ingredients: cucumber, the “cool as a …” comparative standard, thanks to its unbeatable, quenching crispness, and fresh mint, which offers a gently awakening tingle.

The herb comes into play in the form of a pestolike dressing here, whirred in a food processor with shallot, lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, where it takes on a more savory quality than when it is used in desserts.

Tossed with the shrimp and the sliced cucumber, the flavorful dressing coats beautifully, imbuing the salad with lovely green flecks. The salad not only looks gorgeous and tastes deliciously different, but it is also considerably more healthful than the typical mayonnaise-laden version. It’s also a breeze to prepare, and you can make it even more effortlessly by purchasing precooked shrimp.

Shrimp Salad With Lime and Mint Dressing

6-8 servings

This refreshing and healthful shrimp salad is just the thing to satisfy your appetite, while keeping you cool on a hot summer day. Made with quenching cucumber slices and a pestolike mint dressing, it’s as beautiful as it is tasty and simple to prepare. MAKE AHEAD: dressing may be made up to 1 day ahead.

2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails removed

1 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or more as needed

1 tablespoon chopped shallot or sweet onion

¼ teaspoon kosher salt, or more as needed

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ large English cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and very thinly sliced into half-moons

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water. Add the shrimp to the boiling water, return to a boil, then cook until the shrimp is pink and just cooked through, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain the shrimp, then transfer them to the bowl with ice water and let cool completely. Drain the shrimp again, pat dry and transfer to a large bowl.

Place the mint, lime juice, shallot or onion, salt and pepper in the small bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade. Process until everything is minced, stopping to scrape the sides down once or twice as needed. With the processor running, drizzle in the oil and process until emulsified.

Add the dressing and cucumber to the bowl with the shrimp and toss to coat. Taste and season with additional salt and lime juice, if needed. Serve right away.

Nutrition | Per serving (based on 8): 190 calories, 24 g protein, 3 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 170 mg cholesterol, 210 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 0 g sugar