Tomato and Avocado Shrimp Crostini

These perfectly poached shrimp are firm yet tender and infused with salt, making them so tasty even before you marinate them! Let them sit in a lemony, garlicky marinade for a few hours and the flavor just pops. And that’s for three minutes of active work! They are great on their own, but turning them into crostini pushes them over the top. Just the thing for your next party.

Several years ago, I decided that I needed a quick shrimp appetizer in my life, so I did a little development, thought about what I wanted, came up with this recipe for poached, marinated shrimp. Yum! Don’t think that you have to turn these into crostini if all you want is some shrimp to put out on an appetizer plate. They are so good and yummy all by themselves.

However, as good as they are on their own, you can’t go wrong with adding some crispy bread, ripe tomatoes, perfectly soft avocado, and scallions for spice. At least you can’t in my world and I hope these things are never wrong in your world either. As crostini, they make a great appetizer or a lovely light lunch or dinner paired with a salad. As an appetizer, this recipe will serve 8-10 people; as lunch or dinner, I would say 4 people. But either way, it’s good and you should make it! 🙂

– Happy Eating, Annemarie

Tomato and Avocado Shrimp Crostini

 

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Prep/Hold time

4 hours

Cook time

10 mins

Total time

4 hours 10 mins

 

Beautifully poached shrimp are marinated in lemon and olive oil and paired with grilled bread, diced tomato, and avocado in this Shrimp Crostini. Poaching keeps the shrimp tender and infuses them with flavor. So good!

Author: Just a Little Bit of Bacon

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Italian

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 lb large frozen peeled shrimp, thawed
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 1 small shallot, minced
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 8 oz french bread or a country style boule
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside. Then bring large pot of water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium so that the water is just simmering; add the salt and shrimp to the pot and poach the shrimp for 2½ minutes. (Don't let the water boil!) Add the garlic to the pot with the shrimp and poach an additional 30 seconds.
2. Drain shrimp and garlic and then immediately plunge into ice water to stop the cooking.
3. Once the shrimp is cool, drain it well and then blot with paper towels to remove the excess water. Set aside the garlic.
4. Chop each shrimp into 2-3 pieces and then put it into a medium bowl. Mince the garlic and combine with shallots, oil, and lemon juice. Toss the dressing with the shrimp and allow it to marinate for at least 4 hours (can be prepared the day before).
5. When you are ready to make the crostini, remove the shrimp from the fridge and allow it to warm up a bit. Then slice the bread into thin, about ¼ inch, slices. Lightly brush slices with olive oil. Toast the bread on a grill pan or in the oven until golden brown all over. While the bread is toasting, toss together the avocado, tomato, and scallions in a serving bowl.
6. Serve slices of bread on a platter alongside the shrimp and the avocado mixture so that people can create their own crostinis.

Notes

Serves 8-10 as an appetizer or 4 as a main course.

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