This was probably the first appetizer I’ve ever prepared, more than 25 years ago. It is completely out of fashion now, but it is still very tasty and avocado is popular now because of the omega 3 fatty acids it contains. Another good reason to share this is that I explain how to make your own cocktail sauce, even from scratch if you like. Feel free to grow your own avocados and catch your own shrimp as well if this isn’t foody enough for you 😉
As with all simple dishes, the important thing here is to use good ingredients. The avocado should be ripe. The shrimp should preferably be small ones that you peeled yourself. The tiny shrimp have more flavor than their bigger cousins. They are boiled in seawater immediately after being caught on board ship. The peeled ones are treated with preservatives because (at least in the Netherlands) they travel all the way to Morocco and back to be peeled manually. You should use a good cocktail sauce and use it with restraint — the shrimp should not swim in it.
Making your own cocktail sauce is easy: simply mix mayonnaise and ketchup. Add a bit of whiskey if you like. You could make your own ketchup and mayonnaise from scratch, but even without doing so it will probably be better than store-bought cocktail sauce.
Ingredients
For 2 servings
1 ripe avocado
100 grams (3.5 oz) small shrimp, peeled
about 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
about 1 Tbsp ketchup
1/2 lemon
parsley for garnish (optional)
cayenne pepper for garnish (optional)
Preparation
Combine mayonnaise and ketchup in a small bowl.
Stir to mix until homogeneous. Taste and adjust to your liking. You may like to add more mayonnaise or ketchup, or a bit of lemon juice, or perhaps a bit of cayenne pepper.
Add some of your homemade cocktail sauce to the shrimp. Do not add everything at once.
Stir in the cocktail sauce and taste to see whether you need to add a bit more. The balance between shrimp and sauce is important.
Cut the avocado lengthwise around the seed.
You can now easily separate the two halves and then remove the seed.
Fill the hole in the avocado with the shrimp, piling more on top. Serve with a slice of lemon. Garnish if you like with parsley and/or a sprinkling of cayenne pepper.
Flashback
A pound cake has gotten its name because the traditional recipe is one pound each of flour, eggs, butter, and sugar. Two years ago I shared my own version, with a few small tweaks to make it more moist.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
This is such a smart and flavorful recipe. It just goes to show that classic dishes with great ingredients never go out of style! What a wonderful memory of preparing your first appetizer! This would probably taste excellent with cooked, flaked salmon, as well. As for homemade mayonnaise – is there any other way? Best wishes, Shanna
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Thanks Shanna, and happy birthday!
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A classic indeed! My mom used to prepare this for Xmas dinners. Although I loved her version, very similar to yours, I always choose my Mexico inspired recipe. Let me know what you think! North sea shrimp (I think you also use these, as opposed to “small” shrimp), guacamole but leave out sjallot and blend this to a sauce. The advantage is that it saves a lot of time in preparing mayo and ketchup, and you can play with lime, chillies and koriander to create layers of flavour.
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Hi Jeroen. Yes I did use North Sea shrimp, I just figured they’d be hard to find elsewhere. I like your idea of using guacamole, except for the cilantro/coriander!
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It’s such a wonderful combination, isn’t it, and so organic and healthy to look at, not to mention the joy of dipping beneath the bobbly shrimp mayonnaise to the creamy smoothness of the avocado? Here in Australia many of us prefer a bit more bite to the cocktail sauce part – with a surprising ratio of tomato sauce to mayonnaise: for 4: 110g Tomato ketchup; 100g Mayonnaise; ¼ tsp Cayenne or chilli; 12 drops Worcestershire Sauce; 10g Lemon juice; Salt and black pepper.
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I like the shrimp to shine and provide not only texture but also flavor.
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Ah, yes.
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A blast from the past indeed!
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I have noticed a lot of young food bloggers present this lately as if it was the latest fashion! Well, what goes around comes around, as the saying goes!!! But I just don’t believe your prawns travel to Morocco to be peeled!! To a greenie like me that is tantamount to treason!!!!! I usually prefer the unpeeled ones, even in the small size. Love the way you have presented it! But make mine pretty close to that of the ‘Utrechter’ 🙂 !
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I was pretty young when I made this for the first time. Peeling them yourself is quite a chore, but unfortunately the ones peeled with a machine are hard to find.
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Yay! Haha, I love avocado and shrimps and I don’t care that it is a “1980’s thing”. I make a similar version but I marinate the shrimps in a little lime juice and add a pinch of chili (peperoncino) to the cocktail sauce. That works too.
I prefer the North Sea shrimps, but here in Italy I normally only have the big Mediterranean ones, and they do need a dash of lime or lemon.
Anyway, thanks for removing avocado and shrimps from the closet and bringing it out in the light. 😀
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🙂
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un’idea simpatica per un antipasto
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Great post, Stefan. I love shrimp and avocado cocktail regardless of whether it is in vogue. It’s just a great appetizer and also makes a great light lunch, especially if you find the large Haas avocados.
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