Foolproof Papaya Shrimp Cocktail Recipe

Hey Loveys,

One of my goals for 2015 is to become a better cook. Growing up I was never very interested in the kitchen, it was only when I was at university, and found myself living on my own that I became a little interested in cooking (to save money and avoid the trap of eating junk food daily), and my repertoire consisted of, wait for it...salad, Ramen noodles, pasta, and minced beef. Simple things. I still consider myself a Ramen expert actually.

Lately though, I have found myself being inspired by the different textures and flavours of food, and so, I decided that 2015 would be my year of cooking. I've gotten some cookbooks, and have started obsessively looking at YouTube Videos and apprenticing in my mother-in-law's kitchen, since she is the best chef I know. This weekend my mother-in-law and I made a papaya shrimp cocktail, it was super easy to make, absolutely delicious, and most of all, it is 100% foolproof, any novice in the kitchen (like yours truly) can make this with ease :-). See recipe below:

Ingredients:

1 lb shrimp (cleaned: washed, peeled and deveined)

1 lb papaya (also known as pawpaw. peeled, seeds removed, sliced in quarters and then thinly sliced crosswise)

1/4 cup mint (approximately 10-15 mint leaves, chopped in small pieces)

1 celery (thinly sliced, celery is optional)

1 small purple onion (peeled and cut into small cubes)

1 tbsp pepper sauce / hot sauce (this is optional, use if you want to add some heat)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp grated  ginger (use fresh ginger)

salt to taste (use a pinch, or more according to how salty you want it)

Directions:

In a bowl add your papaya/ pawpaw (which has already been sliced), add your shrimp to this (you can steam your shrimp for a few minutes in water, please avoid over steaming the shrimp as this will result it the shrimp becoming 'hard" or "rubbery"), add your mint, add your purple onion.

Then in a separate bowl, mix your olive oil, grated ginger, pepper sauce/ hot sauce, and your salt

Just before you serve your shrimp cocktail, drizzle your olive oil vinaigrette over your shrimp cocktail (after you drizzle it you use a spoon to mix it / work it further into your cocktail),and voila, it is finished, serve it with love, and enjoy.

Thanks for visiting my blog Loveys, I will be updating the blog with new posts each Monday and Thursday from now on (i.e. new posts twice a week), in the meantime, you can follow me on  instagram at @fromstluciawithlove for daily posts on beauty (makeup, skincare etc), fashion and lifestyle.

Have a fantastic week.

XX,

Malika