Mexican Gazpacho/shrimp coctail recipe

dreadnut

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My go-to recipe for gazpacho; makes a great Mexican shrimp cocktail too! Chop everything finely and chill after stirring. Serve iced shrimp on the side. You will likely have leftover gazpacho to put in the fridge for future reference. Enjoy!


  • 1/3 cup red onion, finely chopped​
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice​
  • 1 pound chilled cooked medium shrimp - peeled, deveined, and tails removed​
  • 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped​
  • 1 cucumber, finely chopped​
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped​
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped​

  • 2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper​
  • 2 cups chilled Zing Zang or Mr & Mrs T's Bloody Mary mix​
  • 1 cup chilled ketchup (such as Heinz®)​
  • 1 small bunch fresh cilantro - stems discarded and leaves chopped​
  • 2 avocados - peeled, pitted, and chopped​
 

adorshki

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Hey Dread, don't know if you're still on a low-sodium diet, but I just got put on the 1500 mg/day regimen myself and started counting every milligram every day.
A mind-blower how much stuff is in things like ketchup (220 mg in a tablespoon), which is why I brought it up (actually the Bloody Mary mix was the first thing to catch my eye, and sure enough, 650 mg in 5 oz:
https://www.myfooddiary.com/foods/5195270/mr-and-mrs-t-bloody-mary-mix)
(eek!)
Of course I guess those of us who do have to pay attention to such things these days could figure out just how much Gazpacho we made and prorate the sodium back down to a per ounce figure.
Still, when one's on 1500 mg/day one starts looking for ultra low sources just so one's not too damn hungry all the time.
Years ago my grandpappy gave me a gazpacho recipe very similar to that one but used tomatillos where that one calls for ketchup.
(and no Bloody Mary mix)
And just noticed, avocados in gazpacho?
Somebody got real creative there, never heard of it before even out here in the home of domestic avocado production*.
Although granted it's supposed to be shrimp cocktail dip too, so I "get" it..
What I have recently discovered though, is that I love avocado/onion/tomato sandwiches; allowing me a nice filling meal option for only 200-400 mgs of sodium all of that in the bread.
And bread interestingly enough is actually one of the original ingredients in gazpacho, and I could see the avo making your recipe a little "creamier", but I like 'em straight outta the shell as it is.
BTW, tip on getting the perfect avocado:
I used to fret over finding the one that was "just soft enough" but not already mushy, always thinking I had to by it within a couple of days of intended use and that they'd go mushy real quick on the counter..
Then I read that avos actually ripen by exposure to air and decided to try an experiment with one:
Discovered that no matter how hard they were when I bought 'em, a week in the fridge (yes, the fridge!) allows to em to slowly air-ripen without going mushy, and presto, the perfectly textured sliced avocado every time!
I buy 'em regularly now and they'll keep in a 38 degree fridge even up to 3 weeks.
Make "cheater" guacamole with a 1/2 avo and 2 tbsp. mild salsa roja; another coupla hundred mg of sodium in the salsa but at least cut down by the avo if one wants to figure out the "hit" and only eat 1/2 of it at a time.
Eat alla that and the sandwich and as many unsalted chips as I want and I still got about 1000mg left to spread around and feel like I had a real meal...
:smile:
*Edit: I just noticed the Wiki page for gazpacho does say avocado is a "common" variant.
"Huh",
Guess I must be whiter than I realized.
:glee:
 
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tommym

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.....makes a great Mexican shrimp cocktail too!

Hey, I just had one of these this past weekend. Only the second time in my life, but it's growing on me. The cocktail is so filling, it can be a meal in and of itself! No room for dessert. :frown-new:

Tommy
 

dreadnut

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Good points, Al. I modified the recipe to add the bloody mary mix and eliminated the 2 tsp salt, but it's just a substitution. I should probably use unsalted tomato juice and tomato sauce instead of bloody mary mix and ketchup. I have a great Mrs. Dash salt substitute I've been using, as well as plenty of fresh lime squeezin's for seasoning. I will make it this way next time, as well as I think I will add some minced garlic and another jalapeno, some more coarse ground black pepper, and another lime.
 

adorshki

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Good points, Al. I modified the recipe to add the bloody mary mix and eliminated the 2 tsp salt, but it's just a substitution. I should probably use unsalted tomato juice and tomato sauce instead of bloody mary mix and ketchup. I have a great Mrs. Dash salt substitute I've been using, as well as plenty of fresh lime squeezin's for seasoning. I will make it this way next time, as well as I think I will add some minced garlic and another jalapeno, some more coarse ground black pepper, and another lime.

Also noticed pretty quickly that the taste buds started being a lot more sensitive to "real flavors", kinda helps make up for having to give up the salt.
Never used to worry about sodium; always had good blood pressure, but developed an inner ear condition (Meniere's Disease) that was causing severe vertigo attacks.
The "mechanical fix" was to try to drop the blood pressure a few points with the low sodium regime coupled with HCTZ at 25mg/day.
SO far so good, no attacks since starting almost 3 months ago.
You could get back some of the zing lost in the ketchup with vinegar and sugar or a fruit substitute, pineapple juice jumps out at me for example.
And bloody mary mix is just bloody mary mix by virtue of having a little chili powder in it.
If you eliminate that, try a coupla pinches ground cumin (maybe even as much as a 1/2 to full tablespoon for that much volume? It's not hot like the peppers, it's....pungent, in the parsley family), I even add it to my store-bought salsa I love it so much.
 

dreadnut

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I do use a little cumin in my chili and mexican fare.

My bp has been well under control for a few years, but my sodium restriction is to minimize fluid retention, which stresses my heart and my breathing. My restriction is 2,000 mg/ day, I have been sticking pretty close to that but sometimes I cheat a little. It's also tough to go out to eat and find low-sodium dishes although many restaurants list the sodium content on the menu. It's surprising how many meals equal or exceed my entire daily limit of sodium.

And processed foods are pretty much a thing of the past for us. It is amazing to me how much sugar and salt we consumed over the years without thinking about it. Fer cryin' out loud; there's more sodium in a bowl of Cheerios than in a bowl of potato chips; the chips only taste saltier because the salt is on the outside.
 

adorshki

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I do use a little cumin in my chili and mexican fare.
:smile:
My bp has been well under control for a few years, but my sodium restriction is to minimize fluid retention,
Yeah that's why the HCTZ for me, it's a diuretic.
Overall the mechanical result is that low sodium with a diuretic keeps the pressure down in the inner ear.
My restriction is 2,000 mg/ day, I have been sticking pretty close to that but sometimes I cheat a little. It's also tough to go out to eat and find low-sodium dishes although many restaurants list the sodium content on the menu. It's surprising how many meals equal or exceed my entire daily limit of sodium.
Exactly!
I was easily slamming down 3-4000mg daily against the AHA's recommended 2300, and apparently most Americans do as well, until something happens to change their habits.
KFC, Burger King, McDonalds, "Chain Restaurants" that feature spiced grilled meat on the menu, sodium bombs all!
Whole Roasted Chickens at Safeway for $5.99? Such a deal, right?
900mg per 4oz!!! (Brine injected for tender juicy flavor!), and had to dig around online to find that info!
BTW apparently most of the cheap house brand chicken is brined too, and all those "chicken nuggets" and "tenders" in the fast food joints, and producers are allowed to claim "all natural" as long as theres' nothing artificial in the brine, and only need to disclose the brining on the bulk packaging that gets broken down in the butchers department before going into the counter..."real" chicken clocks in at about 85mg per 4oz, for comparison for folks who may be seeing this info for the first time..
Even the salads at Whole Foods that I'd use for lunch 3-4 days a week, thinking they've gotta be healthy, right?
It's in the sauces and dressings, so had to start looking at that stuff too.
Fortunately WF at least prints out nutrition info on its labels now, just in time for me.
So I can pick lower sodium salads and calculate how much I'm getting at lunch every day.
Lotta folks call 'em "Whole Paycheck" but you can order from the counter and only buy what you need, without having to buy a bunch of ingredients in bulk for overkill production for a single guy like me with limited storage and prep time to boot.
Ya just gotta shop a little smarter with 'em.
And they have unsalted salsa chips at a better price than the local big chains which don't even offer unsalted chips anymore!


And processed foods are pretty much a thing of the past for us. It is amazing to me how much sugar and salt we consumed over the years without thinking about it. Fer cryin' out loud; there's more sodium in a bowl of Cheerios than in a bowl of potato chips; the chips only taste saltier because the salt is on the outside.
Yep!
Go figure!
I never was big on breakfast cereals although I do actually like oatmeal on a couple of weekends a month, but loved Cape Cod "40% less fat" chips to death, least greasy chips I ever had barring those Pringles that taste like paper....
Had to give 'em up.
Crap now I'm having a salt jones.
:glee:
 
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