SHRIMP COCKTAIL
An Easy Appetizer That Will Impress Your Guests
A few years ago, I made shrimp cocktail for my husband’s birthday. I remember at the time, I couldn’t find a recipe for the cocktail sauce that appealed to me. I did some recipe research and found that most of the sauces used ketchup as the base, but I wanted the base of this cocktail sauce to have a more fresh tomato taste verses a ketchup that has a lot of added sugar, corn syrup and salt. Using a plain tomato sauce base allowed the spices and other flavors of the sauce to come through so much more.
I have made this recipe several times over the years because it is easy to make, delicious and makes a beautiful centerpiece. I made this cocktail sauce for small dinner party with some of my closet friends this past weekend and again it was a hit. To make things easier, make the cocktail sauce and shrimp the day before your party, one less thing to do on the day of your party. As always thanks for stopping by, CHEERS TO A HAPPY & HEALTHY DAY!
SHRIMP COCKTAIL SAUCE
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Tomato Sauce or diced tomatoes
- 2 TBSP Worchestinshire Sauce
- 2 Garlic cloves Minced
- 2 Shallots Minced
- 1 Handful cilantro
- 1/4-1/2 Cup Sriracha Sauce
- Salt & Black Pepper to taste
- 2 TBSP Horseradish Freshly grated or prepared
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender, pulse 4-5x. I do not completely puree the sauce, I keep it the consistency of a medium salsa as seen in the picture. Start by adding 1/4 cup sriracha sauce, taste test and add more if you like it spicier.
- I make the cocktail sauce either the night before or the morning of that I'm going to serve it. This gives some time for all of the flavors to blend together even more. This sauce is a lot like chili soup, the flavors are even better if it's given time to marinate.
- To make the shrimp place 6 cups of water in a medium to large saucepan along with a few springs of parsley, one garlic clove minced, a lemon cut into wedges, and 1 tsp salt, simmer for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, add the shrimp simmer for 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink, than run under cold water until the shrimp are completely cold. Refrigerate until ready to serve.