When I lived in Mexico, I fell in love with the various regional versions of shrimp cocktails, especially from the Yucatán and Oaxaca in the south. So much so that I still prefer homemade “Mexican style” cocktail sauce to the bottled stuff available at your local market. If you would like to try an alternative to the typical ketchuppy shrimp cocktail served here in the States, give this version a try. I simplified the original recipe from the New York Times to make it more accessible without sacrificing the wonderful tangy complexity of the sauce. Buen apetito!

Mexican Shrimp Cocktail
Serves 6 as a starter, or 4 as a light meal with a green salad.

Ingredients for the sauce:

• 2 tablespoons green olives, chopped

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/4 cup ketchup

• 1/4 cup chili sauce

• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano (or ¾ teaspoon dried)

• 2 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped

• 1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper, roughly chopped (more if you want more heat)

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

• 1/2 cup Clamato juice (or ¼ cup clam juice; ¼ cup bottled tomato juice)

• ½ an eight-inch Anaheim chile roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped; half reserved (see *Note)

Ingredients for the pico de gallo:

• 1 cup tomatoes, seeded and diced

• 1/2 cup white onion, diced

• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced

• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

• 2 teaspoons minced jalapeño

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Ingredients for the seafood:

• 1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced

• 1/2 reserved Anaheim chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, and diced

• 1 pound large shrimp (16-20 count) peeled, deveined, and boiled for two minutes, drained and plunged into cold water; 3 per person as an appetizer, or 5 for a light meal. Substitute medium shrimp if you prefer.

Preparation:
1. Purée the sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a medium bowl.
2. Add the pico de gallo ingredients to the sauce.
3. Delicately fold in the avocado and shrimp. Spoon into ice cream-sundae or martini glasses and serve with warm tortilla chips.
4. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

*Note: place the chile under the broiler until charred (2-3 minutes per side). Put the chile on a plate and cover with another plate. Wait 5 minutes, uncover and the skin should peel off easily. Slice the chile lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.

*Note: for a great light summer meal, serve with a mixed green salad with a bit of crumbled goat cheese or Mexican cotija dressed with a light vinaigrette alongside the cocktail.

Wine pair: my first choices would be a Rosé, Chablis, or a Chardonnay/Viognier blend that would stand up to and complement the complex acid and spice in the cocktail. Stay away from heavy oaky Chardonnays or overly minerally whites.

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/campechana-extra-mexican-seafood-cocktail
Adapted from Levi Goode at Goode Company Seafood in Houston.