It's hot outside. Stay cool with this crisp and refreshing 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 pesto-like 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.