First of all, don’t let the word “fiery” scares you away because it’s always up to you how “fiery” you want this cocktail to be. I can’t say enough good things of this fiery shrimp cocktail recipe I made the other day. I’ve never really a big “fan” of shrimp cocktail myself. Perhaps that’s because I had not really tasted a good one. I can’t stress enough how important it is to use fresh high quality seafood when it comes to making seafood cocktail. Honestly, I don’t like shrimp cocktail using store-bought cooked shrimps. That’s just me. The shrimps are simply not the same.
This fiery shrimp cocktail is so delicious with tomato sauce and herbs like cilantro and eating it with alfalfa and avocado really hit the note! So very delicious! gosh!!!
FIERY SHRIMP COCKTAIL
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw large shrimp , shell-off
- Olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon
- Juice of 3 limes , zest of 1
- 1 garlic clove , peeled and minced
- 1-2 red or green chilis , to taste, sliced
- 2 scallions , trimmed and sliced at an angle into 1/2-inch pieces
- A handful of soft , fresh herbs (such as basil, dill, cilantro, or a mixture of all three), leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cucumber
- GARNISH:
- 1 small romaine heart or round lettuce , quartered
- 2 avocados , halved an pitted
- 2 handfuls of mixed sprouts like alfalfa or mung beans , sunflower, onion seeds, to name but a few
- A few limes , halved or quartered
Instructions
- Pour about 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat, let it heat up, then add your shrimp with a pinch of salt and pepper. Fry and toss around for a couple of minutes, until the shrimp are starting to color slightly and cooked through
- Put your cooked shrimp into a large bowl and pour in your tomato sauce. Add the lemon and lime zest and juice, the garlic, most of your chilis, the scallions, and most of your soft herbs. Stir, and season with salt, pepper, another squeeze of lemon or lime juice if needed, and a bit more chili to get he sauce as fiery as you dare. Add the Worcestershire sauce
- Use a fork to really scrape down the length of your cucumber so it gets grooves around the outside - this increases the surface area and gives the sauce more places to get into. Cut the cucumber into thick slices and add to the bowl. Give it a stir, then cover with a plastic wrap and pop it into the refrigerator while you get your garnishes prepared. So often, seafood wants to be served warmed or hot, but I think this particular dish works best chilled
- When you're ready to eat, spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and put it on a platter along with your garnishes and some lovely crusty bread or tortillas. Scatter over the reserved soft herbs to finish it off, and let your guests help themselves. Nice served with some hot bread too
