Ingredients:
- 1 pound medium shrimp, raw or cooked
- Salt
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 1 cup peeled, diced cucumber
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 (15-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, chopped OR 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 to 4 tablespoons hot sauce to taste
- 1 avocado, cut into chunks
Instructions:
- Peel, devein, and cook the raw shrimp (if using):
If you have pre-cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp you can skip to the next step. If you are working with raw shrimp, peel and devein them. If you have a little extra time and want your shrimp to be extra good, put the shells in 6 cups of cool salted water, bring to a boil, then strain the shell stock into a separate pot and cook the shrimp in that liquid. If you want to skip that step, just bring a medium pot salted water to a boil (a Tbsp salt for 2 quarts of water), add the shrimp, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until just cooked through. Reserve a cup of the cooking water and chill it. - Cut half of the cooked shrimp into chunks:
Cut half of the shrimp into large chunks, leaving the other half whole (for a more attractive presentation). - Toss the shrimp with other ingredients, chill:
Put the chopped shrimp in a bowl with the chopped onions, cucumber, celery, jalapeño, tomatoes, ketchup, cilantro, lime juice, and hot sauce. Gently stir to combine. Chill. - Add some cooled shrimp cooking water:
Once the cooking water has cooled at least to room temperature, add a little at a time to the shrimp cocktail, until the shrimp cocktail is the consistency you want (use clam stock or lightly salted water—a third of a teaspoon of salt dissolved into a cup of water—if you are starting with already cooked and peeled shrimp). - Stir in the salt, hot sauce, avocado:
To serve, add salt and more hot sauce to taste and gently mix in the chopped avocados. Dip the whole shrimp in the cocktail and arrange them on top. - Serve in parfait glasses or in small bowls with tortilla chips on the side.
Yield:
4-6 servings
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