Shrimp Avocado Boats

By JimMac

Ingredients

• Preparation:
• 1 lemon or lime
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 ribs celery with leaves, halved
• 2 flat-leaf parsley sprigs
• 4 black peppercorns5
• 1 pound large shrimp6, peeled and deveined
• 3 plum tomatoes7, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• Juice of 1 lime8
• 3 ripe avocados9, preferably Hass, halved and pitted
• 1 cup small ripe cantaloupe balls
• 1 cup small ripe honeydew balls
• 1 cup Cilantro Mayonnaise
• 6 small fresh cilantro11 leaves, for garnish
• Cilantro Mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Salt and coarsely ground black pepper, to taste
• Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, orange zest, cilantro, parsley, salt, and black pepper. Refrigerate. Use within 24 hours.

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation:
Cut lemon or lime in half, then squeeze juice into a large pot of water to cook the shrimp. Toss in the juiced rinds as well. Add bay leaf, celery, parsley, and peppercorns12 and bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to medium, add shrimp13, and cook until they turn opaque (usually less than 1 minute of cooking time - do not overcook or the shrimp will become tough). Immediately remove only the shrimp with a slotted spoon, discarding the cooked veggies and water, and place in a bowl of ice. When cool, pat shrimp dry and cut into about 1-inch thick chunks.

In a large bowl, combine shrimp chunks with tomatoes14.

Carve 6 small balls from each avocado15 half using a small melon baller tool, and place in a separate bowl with the lime16 juice (reserve that juice), tossing gently to cover to inhibit browning. Strain the avocado balls from the lime juice and add to the shrimp and tomato mixture, along with the cantaloupe and honeydew melon balls. Coat the avocado shells with the remaining lime juice and set aside.

Fold the cilantro mayonnaise gently into the avocado, shrimp, tomato, and melon mixture, tossing gently to combine. Fill the reserved avocado boats with equal amounts of the shrimp mixture and garnish with fresh cilantro18 leaves.