Encatada de conocerte México! – Coctel de camarónes y pulpo

Not that I am starting to deviate into Mexican cuisine, but since I just got back from Cabos San Lucas last night, I wanted to pursue my Mexican and seafood adventures with this refreshing and delicious cocktail. The abundance of avocado, seafood, lime and hot peppers is what I loved most about Mexican cuisine. I knew the traditional Mexican dishes you get in California, such as quesadilla, tacos, burritos and fajitas, but never really explored further their more delicate and fragrant cuisine.

So this small and easy dish was inspired by what I discovered in a small restaurant in La Paz right in front of the ocean, a beautiful and fresh octopus cocktail served in a glass. In France, we do use avocado shell to serve avocado based appetizers, the only problem is that you need a large haas avocado or you won’t be able to fit a lot of the stuffing. You can of course use a large cocktail glass to serve this, or two avocado halves per person.


I had never been to Mexico before this trip just because usually during the summer vacation I go back home. For many reasons, I could not go home this year. So I had to find a place close by where I felt I was completely “dépaysée” (away from my natural environment) and recharge my batteries.

Los Cabos, in Baja might not be the typical Mexican city but I loved it.  You can find Starbucks and Costco which I thought were somehow out of place, selling American fruits to the locals at outrageous prices. We get Mexican mangos and they get American peaches.

La Paz was a lot more Mexican than Cabos and a lot cheaper too. The warmth and hospitality of the locals, the cuisine, the burning sun, the ocean and everything else that makes Baja very special. That long and narrow peninsula has so many wonderful assets ;its where the Pacific meets the Sea of Cortez, where the desert meets green plains, where you can relax and pamper yourself in the amazing spas, or get more adventurous and drive along the coasts and discover tiny and colorful Mexican villages.

The beach… I am not really a beach maniac, and did not lay down to get a tan, but even with a 100 sun block and in the shade, you get burnt…I was lucky enough to not have a bikini incident, so everything was perfect.

I have never met people so adorable and hospitable, people would go out of their way to help you with a genuine desire to do so and sincere smile. I will be back!

Now that I am back to real life, I will have to catch up with everyone and see what’s cooking and what everyone has been up to during this last month. I apologize for being such a terrible “supporter”, but I will get back in touch with everyone very soon.

Ingredients for 4

  • 4 ripe avocados, cut in half
  • 1 lemon
  • 12 medium size shrimps, deshelled
  • 150 g cooked octopus, cut in small pieces
  • 1 tsp hot sauce
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tbs lime juice
  • zest of 1 lime
  • 1 tbs mixed herbs (cilantro, chives, tarragon, etc…)
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  • 1 tsp red onion, chopped
  • salt and pepper

Preparation

Cook octopus for a few hours in salted boiling water. Let it cool and cut in small pieces. Saute shrimps in olive oil and add to the octopus.

Cut avocado in halves, using a teaspoon, scoop some of its flesh, leaving about 5 mm of avocado on the shell. Cut the scooped avocado in small pieces. Coat the avocado halves with lemon juice to prevent them from darkening.

In a mixing container, add all other ingredients and mix well.

Mix diced avocado with seafood, and pour vinaigrette on mixture. Spoon into the avocado halves. Decorate with lime slice and serve.