Mexican Shrimp Cocktail

The tomatoes are beginning to ripen!  I'm thinking Gazpacho.  But this Mexican Shrimp Cocktail has some of the same ingredients -- plus Shrimp.  This recipe is from "Mexican Mania, by Cathy Arkle"

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp
• 1 tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• ⅓ cup lime juice
• ½ small red onion, sliced
• 1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
• ½ jalapeno chile, seeded and finely chopped
• ½ red bell pepper, roasted, skinned and cut into julienne
• 1 tablespoon canned chipotle chile, drained and chopped
• ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
• leaves from 6 cilantro sprigs, chopped
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cut into ½ inch cubes

Instructions

1. Bring about 5 cups of water to a boil in a pot. Submerge the shrimp in the boiling water for 30 seconds, quickly remove with a slotted spoon and let cool. Peel and devein the shrimp.
2. Toss the tomato chunks in coarse salt and drain in a colander for 30 minutes.
3. At least 1 hour before serving, toss together the shrimp and the rest of the ingredients except the avocado. Season with salt and pepper and toss gently. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, and up to 6 hours until ready to serve.
4. Stir in the avocado and serve.

Garden Bounty -- Roasted Roma Tomatoes

Instead of canning Roma or Plum Tomatoes, another method is to roast them and then freeze to store them for later.  These make a great pizza or pasta sauce, just add some Italian seasonings, and blend with an immersion blender.  Here's how they look after roasting for about 1 hour in a 400 degree oven.

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise, cut out the core and remove the seeds.  

Place on a foil lined baking sheet.

Drizzle with good olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Place in the 400 degree oven and roast until they are a little charred and a bit dried on the edges.

Get some freezer bags ready. Label freezer bags with contents and date.

Place roasted tomatoes in the freezer bag in a single layer.  Zip closed and place in the freezer.

Then on a cold snowy day when you make homemade pizza, 

use these tomatoes from the garden to make the best sauce ever.  

Enjoy friends!