Shrimp and avocado salad with peanut dressing

To coax out the very best flavors in nuts and spices (in this case, peanuts, sesame seeds and fennel seeds), a quick and gentle fry in extra-virgin olive oil is all that’s needed. This yields a fragrant fried-peanut dressing, a testament to fat as a conductor of flavor. The crunchy dressing revolutionizes a simple salad of shrimp, sliced avocado and tender-crisp lettuce, transforming it into a much more compelling and surprisingly filling main dish. Any number of proteins -- salmon, chicken or steak -- could take center stage in this dish, but speedy shrimp keeps the timing under 20 minutes.