Cold, fresh, tangy, a little spicy, and loaded with shrimp and crunchy vegetables. This is the kind of meal that tastes especially good when it is way too hot outside to turn on the oven.

Watch Me Make It

Recipe Inspiration

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup Spanish onion, chopped
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 1 lb chilled cooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
• 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cucumber, finely chopped
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1½ cups chilled tomato-clam juice cocktail (such as Clamato)
• 1 cup chilled ketchup
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, stems removed and leaves chopped
• 2 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (such as Valentina)
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted, and chopped

Instructions

1. For the onion, use either method below: soak the chopped onion in water to mellow the sharp raw-onion bite, as I did in the video, or toss it with the lime juice and let it sit for about 10 minutes for a quick-pickled version with extra tang.
2. In a large bowl, combine the chilled shrimp, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, jalapeño, salt, and black pepper.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the tomato-clam juice, ketchup, cilantro, and hot sauce.
4. Pour the sauce over the shrimp and vegetables and stir until everything is well combined.
5. Gently fold in the avocado and the prepared onion. If you used the lime-juice method, add that lime mixture too. If you soaked the onion in water, drain it well and add the lime juice separately.
6. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour so everything is thoroughly chilled and the flavors have time to come together.
7. Serve cold. Add extra hot sauce if you like more heat.

Why Soak the Onion?

Raw onion can have a pretty aggressive bite. Soaking it in water, like I did in the video, mellows some of that harshness without taking the onion flavor away.

Or Use the Lime Juice

Mixing the onion with lime juice and letting it sit for about 10 minutes does two things: it tames that sharp raw-onion bite through a quick-pickling or macerating step, and it gives the onion a bright, tangy pop. Same goal, with a little extra flavor.

Laura’s Tip

Start with everything cold – especially the cooked shrimp, tomato-clam juice, and ketchup. This is one of those recipes that is at its best really well chilled.

Make It Your Own

Adjust the jalapeño and hot sauce to your heat level. Serve it with saltine crackers or tortilla chips, add more avocado, or pile in a little more cucumber if you want extra crunch. A recipe is a guide. Cooking is an art.