"I am 76 and consider myself a very good cook," writes Dorothy Harley of Norco, California. "I've always looked forward to receiving your magazine. Some recipes I try, love, and make over and over. One recipe I remember most is a shrimp and avocado salad. For our 25th anniversary, I cleaned and cooked 25 pounds of shrimp myself for the dish — it was a hit. And for my daughter's wedding, 21 years ago, I made it again. I'm sure that if you reprinted the recipe, you'd receive praise."
Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 25 hr (includes marinating)
Recipe information
Total Time
25 hr
Yield
Makes 8 first-course servings
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Cook shrimp in a 5-quart pot of boiling salted water* until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes, then drain in a colander.
Step 2
Whisk together vinegar, oil, capers, salt, pepper, celery seeds, and Tabasco in a large bowl, then add warm shrimp, onion, celery, and bay leaves and toss to combine. Marinate, covered and chilled, 24 hours to 2 days.
Step 3
Just before serving, discard bay leaves. Quarter, pit, and peel avocados and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. Gently stir into shrimp salad, then spoon over lettuce.
Step 4
- When salting water for cooking, use 1 tablespoon salt for every 4 quarts water.
