Details, de-tails: Get the most of those pink shrimp

This is not an edible nod to millennial pink. Honest. Red grapefruit and shrimp, bathed in a piquant dressing and paired with the crunch of toasted hazelnuts, red onion slivers and perky spring lettuces, just happen to give this plate a look that’s very on trend.

The shrimp get a little seasoning before they hit the hot pan, and you may notice they do not have their tails — those pinky-size lengths of shell that keep the shrimp from curling as tightly as you see them here. At this point, I’d be remiss not to mention the recently and happily retired Jane Touzalin, an extraordinary colleague and editor whom I had the pleasure of working with for decades.

She railed against the tail shells in dishes where the diner must detach them and find a proper spot to pile the discards. Sometimes I’d leave them on in Washington Post Food recipes, so the shrimp would cook super-fast — and, as it’s done in restaurants, because they look nicer on the plate.

Here, Jane wins.

Folks on certain medications cannot tolerate grapefruit, so we tested this with champagne (Ataulfo) mangoes as well. The subbed fruit makes the dish less pink, but it tastes just as good.

Iron Skillet Shrimp With Grapefruit

4 servings

Serve with warm cornbread.

Adapted from “100% Real: 100 Insanely Good Recipes From Clean Food Made Fresh,” by Sam Talbot (Oxmoor House, 2017).

2 pink grapefruits (may substitute 2 peeled Ataulfo or champagne mangoes, cut into chunks)

1-inch piece fresh ginger root

1 lime

3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large raw shrimp

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 cup skinned hazelnuts

1/4 medium red onion

8 ounces spring mix lettuces

Use a sharp knife to peel each grapefruit, making sure to remove all the white pith. Cut the fruit into supremes, working with one grapefruit at a time: Holding it in your hand, cut each segment away from the membrane on either side, letting the supreme segments fall into a mixing bowl. (The idea is to leave behind all of the membrane and any remaining pith.) Discard the membranes.

Peel and grate the ginger over a large liquid measuring cup. Cut the lime in half, then squeeze in all its juice. Add the rice vinegar, mustard, honey, 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the oil in a slow, steady stream to form an emulsified dressing.

Discard the shrimp shell tails, if they are still attached. Lay the shrimp on a cutting board or piece of plastic wrap, then sprinkle them on both sides with the paprika, coriander and the remaining salt and pepper.

Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the shrimp and cook for about 2 minutes per side, until opaque and pink. Transfer the shrimp to the mixing bowl with the grapefruit supremes; return the skillet to the stove top, over medium-low heat.

Add the hazelnuts to the pan; toast them for a few minutes until fragrant and lightly browned. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Cut the 1/4 red onion into very thin slices and add to the mixing bowl, along with the lettuces and hazelnuts. Drizzle half the dressing over and toss gently to coat.

Divide among individual plates. Pass the remaining dressing at the table.

Per serving (using half the dressing): 420 calories, 37 g protein, 19 g carbohydrates, 24 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 275 mg cholesterol, 310 mg sodium, 4 g dietary fiber, 11 g sugar