My guests attending our Havana Nights cooking party were a wonderful group to share the kitchen with. We kicked things off with mojitos that they customized at the mojito bar I set up. So with mojitos on hand, we got busy working on our menu. One of the dishes we prepared was this shrimp and avocado salad. It was easy to put together and the salad was so bright and colorful when ready. What made this salad special was the mojo dressing. Mojo is a traditionally Cuban marinade or dressing made with the juice of sour oranges and garlic. Many Latin markets will often times carry bottled mojo dressing but it's just as easy, if not tastier making it yourself. A specific variety of sour oranges are typically used in the authentic version but if you can't find sour orange juice or sour oranges at your market, you can substitute it with equal parts of orange juice and lime juice.
Shrimp & Avocado Salad
recipe adapted from Cooking Light
recipe adapted from Cooking Light
- 12 ounces peeled and deveined medium shrimp, steamed or boiled and chilled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 peeled avocado, cut into 12 wedges and chopped
- Mojo dressing:
- 6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup sour orange juice* (or equal portions orange juice & lime juice)1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Place cooked shrimp in a bowl over ice or chill in the refrigerator.
- Meanwhile, prepare the mojo dressing by combining the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.
- Just before serving, add the tomatoes, red onions, cilantro and avocados to the bowl with shrimp.
- Pour over the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
* Many Latin grocery stores sell bottles of "naranja agria" bitter orange juice, you can also find it for sale online.
