Different kind of shrimp cocktail

I’ve been in such a great mood these last couple of days, just staying busy, enjoying spending time with hubby who is now home for the weekends (yay!), that I decided to make something special for lunch. Few weeks a go, I got this amazing recipe for a shrimp cocktail from my friend and I couldn’t wait to try it out. We bought some fresh, wild caught shrimp on Saturday and a bunch of organic avocados so I had a perfect opportunity to try out the recipe.

I have a love-hate relationship with shrimp. As you guys know, I’m not much of a meat and fish eater these days, I usually try to avoid eating anything animal-based, but sometimes even I can’t help my crazy cravings. Few years a go, I actually developed a shrimp allergy, but it somehow went away. One Sunday we went to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in the area, I had a shrimp pasta dish and as soon as we left I got these crazy looking hives on my skin, my lips swell up and my face turned puffy and it all went away after a few hours. Weird, I thought. So next weekend I had a shrimp cocktail and the same thing happened. Okay, I thought, I guess shrimp and I can no longer be friends. Fast forward few years later, I was at a wedding and, again, had some shrimp. The minute I finished my dish, hubby went “wait, aren’t you allergic??” The thought of my face turning all puffy again almost made me cry and I wanted to leave the wedding ASAP. But it never did and it seemed that my mysterious allergy just went away, on its own. Again, weird.

Even though the recipe called for jumbo shrimp, I ended up using medium, as it was the only kind I could get at the market. This cocktail still came out so delicious, full of flavor and very light.

Ingredients:

1 small yellow tomato, chopped into small pieces
bunch of chives, finely chopped
2 gloves of garlic, whole
2 tsp of organic balsamic vinegar
2 bay leaves
1 pound of fresh shrimp (I bought mine peeled and divined)
2 lemons, juiced
5 TBS of vegan mayonaisse
2 TBS of Worcestershire sauce
1tsp of granulated garlic
few leaves of organic iceberg lettuce, broken into small pieces
1/2 avocado, sliced

1. Fill a medium pot with water, add whole garlic gloves, bay leaves and balsamic vinegar, bring to boil.
2. Once the water is boiled, lower the heat, add the shrimp and simmer on low heat for exactly 3 minutes. Make sure that the water is only simmering and not boiling as you can overcook the shrimp very easily. After 3 minutes, remove the shrimp and let cool.
3. Prepare 4 small bowls, place an even amount of lettuce in each bowl, add a few slices of avocado and chopped tomatoes on top.
4. To prepare the sauce, mix mayo, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, granulated garlic and finely chopped chives and mix well until it has a smooth and creamy consistency.
5. Divide shrimp amongst four bowls, top it off with the sauce and some chives to garnish. Serve with lemon wedges and warm ciabatta bread.

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