Shrimp cocktail, the fancy holiday appetizer. The refined appetizer quick to make at home, perfect for any occasion, I make it often, but especially it cannot be missing during the holidays. I know Christmas is still a bit away, but indeed who’s thinking about Christmas and New Year, I want to give you a fabulous recipe right away, then at Christmas I will surely make you other delicious gifts. This appetizer is typical of the ’80s, but it’s so good that it remains timeless. My niece who adores it, ever since she was a child, always asked me for it at Christmas, and now she’s 25 years old and guess what, she calls me just before Christmas to remind me to add her shrimp cocktail to the menu, she may be repetitive, but how can I not please her, and then I told you, we all love it, it’s a pleasure to accommodate her, and this time I have anticipated a little, also because at Christmas with so much to prepare, I never have the time to take a decent photo, I hope I managed now, and try my shrimp cocktail, it’s delicious. Find this recipe in the Christmas appetizers
Other delicious Fish appetizers for Christmas
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Cooking time: 2 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients for shrimp cocktail
- 1 lb Shelled Shrimp (quality, not too small)
- 1 1/4 cups Mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 5 tablespoons Ketchup (2 of tomato paste)
- 2 tablespoons Cognac (I use Rum)
- 1 tablespoon Vinegar (Optional)
- to taste Vegetable Broth (Optional)
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Small Pot
- 1 Knife
- 1 Spoon
- 1 Immersion Blender
- 6 Cups
Preparation of shrimp cocktail
First of all, let’s prepare the shrimp, I usually get them frozen, always the same, quality ones, that I trust for a good outcome, I never let myself be tempted by last-minute offers because, alas, quality and taste suffer.
The shrimp, already cleaned, need to be thawed, but we can also use fresh, cleaned, and shelled ones. Place a pot with water on the stove to blanch the shrimp. We can also use a vegetable broth to flavor them a bit, or simple water with curry; the last time I prepared a bit of broth with carrot, celery, and onion, let it boil for a few minutes, then added the shrimp for a quick scalding, at a boil, I removed them to keep them tender. I prefer to give the shrimp a quick scalding to keep them tender.
Let the shrimp cool and in the meantime, prepare the mayonnaise if we’re not using the ready-made one, here is the recipe to make it at home, in 2 minutes with an immersion blender. To make mayonnaise, we need an egg, olive and seed oil, vinegar, lemon, and a little salt and pepper to taste; for details click on the link on the word mayonnaise.
Once the mayonnaise is ready, prepare the cocktail sauce. To make the cocktail sauce, you need the mayonnaise we’ve already made and the ketchup. If we don’t have ketchup at home, we can make it with tomato sauce, vinegar, and sugar, or as I did last time, when I didn’t have ketchup at home, I used a bit of tomato paste, which I always keep on hand for emergencies, diluted with a little vinegar, and got the same result, even without cooking, since I didn’t add sugar. To make the cocktail sauce, in addition to mayonnaise and ketchup, Worcestershire sauce is added, I adjust a bit to personal taste on the quantity, but at least 2-3 tablespoons are added, and finally cognac, but if we don’t have cognac, we can also use another liquor, I tried even with brandy and rum and in the end, the cocktail sauce was perfect even like this.
Once the cocktail sauce is prepared, just add the blanched shrimp to it. Add finely chopped lettuce to serve, in elegant cups, as the shrimp cocktail deserves.
If you want to receive my recipes, follow me on social media, on the FACEBOOK page, Pinterest, and Instagram, I remind you that you can leave a comment here or on social media, and if you try one of my recipes, send me your shot, you can also find me on YouTube: Ornella Scofano Ricette che Passione.
