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(EDITOR'S NOTE: Culinary Creations is a column that prints the last week of every month. It is written by Shawn L. Hanlin, executive chef of Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, operated by Pennsylvania College of Technology's School of Business, Arts & Sciences as a training site for students in culinary arts and baking pastry arts majors. Hanlin has been a chef for 40 years and was on Team USA for the World Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany.)
Greetings, all!
Well, who knows? Is it going to be 60 degrees or snow?
Not being from here originally, the weather here is perplexing. I do see my chives and daffodils just trying to start something, so I thought I'd make a dish you will want to keep a hold of until the start of summer -- by the pool, hopefully.
In keeping with the theme of salsas, this is a twist on a salsa -- kind of.
At any rate, it's very tasty and a staple in Mexico, where they use many seafoods, not just shrimp. You can use raw oysters, octopus, scallops, mussels, clams, etc.
But today, we are just going to use shrimp.
I have had this on the beach in Ensenada, Mexico, where they shucked the seafood and mixed it to order -- unbelievably fresh as you could get.
You can make this ahead of time, and prep all the vegetables, but I would mix it right before you want to eat it, as the vegetables are great very crunchy, and they will get soft if they sit in the sauce for very long. (They get kind of pickled.)
The dish is traditionally served with saltine crackers.
I really can't find any history on this dish, so I'll just say make it and enjoy! I know many people will find the recipe odd at first, considering it has orange soda in it, preferably Mexican Fanta, but use it when you make it. It works; trust me!
Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
(Coctel de Camarones)
1 pound of shrimp, any size
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/4 cup garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup clam juice
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup orange soda
1/4 cup hot sauce (or to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado
Saltine crackers, for serving on the side
Poach the shrimp in court bouillon -- basically a flavored water. To poach them, bring the liquid to a boil, then add the shrimp. Remove after 2-3 minutes. If they look like they're just about done (they should turn pink), take them out, because they'll continue cooking. Overcooked shrimp become rubbery.
When removing the shrimp from the pot, I spread them in a single layer on a sheet or other flat surface and place them in the refrigerator to cool. Get them cold quickly in the refrigerator rather than plunging them in ice water so that they stop cooking, but you don't wash off the flavor you put on when poaching them.
Next, add the shrimp and remaining ingredients to a mixing bowl. You can change the amount and mix of ingredients to make the recipe more sweet, more sour, more hot, etc. The "musts" are ketchup and orange soda.
Taste the liquid in the shrimp/veggie mixture and add salt and pepper as needed.
Add the avocado last. To prepare the avocado, cut it in half, remove the pit, and carefully use the tip of your knife to cut the flesh into squares -- without cutting through the skin. Use a large spoon to remove the flesh from the skin and gently stir into the mixture.
Serve in glasses with saltines and lime wedges.