Shrimp Cocktail

We're entering the last few weeks of Winter and I'm beyond thrilled. We live in the desert so this time of year is ideal for us. It's not too cold and it's not too warm. I'd say it's perfect. It's also officially Lent season. For us, this means more seafood and vegetarian meals. We're huge mariscos lovers here. This week I want to share a basic shrimp cocktail recipe. It's quick, easy, and completely customizable to your liking. It also pairs well with an ice cold michelada or margarita.

I like to make shrimp cocktail in a large batch similar to ceviche. No need to prep individual portions. That's just extra work me. No thank you. I mix all the ingredients in a large tupperware bowl for easy access and storage. Double the batch if you're feeding more than 4-6 people or want leftovers.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb peeled Shrimp - I use the small cooked, peeled, deveined tail off pre-packaged kind

8 oz Flake Style Immitation Crab

1 diced Red Onion

1 chopped Cilantro bunch

1 large diced Cucumber

1-2 diced Jalapeños

1-2 Avocados (depends on size - we like extra so I use 2)

1-2 Lemons (juiced)

1-2 Limes (juiced)

64 oz Clamato"Tomato Cocktail" Juice

Salt to taste

PREP:

Prep vegetables. Rinse jalapeños, cilantro and peel the cucumber and onion. I recommend using a food processor or a chopper to speed up the dicing process but by hand works too. If you're worried about spice level, devein the jalapeños or omit them. Set aside.

Not handling avocados, yet.

As for the limes and lemon, size is a factor here. Lemons can be huge and limes can be tiny. We like a lot of lime/lemon in our mariscos, the more the better. If you don't like lime/lemon, reduce, or omit. It's up to you. Juice limes and lemons and set aside.

Thaw and rinse shrimp as instructed. Pat dry and add to a large bowl or storage container. Add lime/lemon juice along with a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Prep crab by chopping or lightly shred (separate chunks) with fingers. When done, add to the bowl of shrimp and mix together. Let them marinate in the lime/lemon juice for 10-ish minutes.

Add vegetables to the shrimp bowl and slowly add the entire bottle of Clamato juice to the bowl. Stir and set aside. If you like more tomato juice, feel free to add another bottle or a smaller bottle for more liquid. We like the extra vegetable look.

The final step is dicing the avocados and adding them to the rest of the ingredients. Lightly stir to combine all ingredients together. Salt taste and add more salt if desired. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Aim for at least 15 - 20 minutes chilled.

The longer you chill, the darker the shrimp and crab will become. They'll turn red from the tomato juice and personally, I think it taste better that way. Totally up to you though.

Serve in a bowl or large cocktail glass, pair with saltines or tostadas. Don't forget the hot sauce. Tapatio, Valentina, whatever you like.

Salud!

Xx Dee