Oh boy, it’s been a while since I looked through my grandmother’s recipes but I finally did and am sharing my latest venture into the Kreyol Kitchen: a Haitian version of shrimp cocktail. It’s super easy to make, makes a great party appetizer, and is super tasty.

Since it’s been so long since I cooked one of my grandmother’s recipes, I should probably remind you what the Kreyol Kitchen is. One summer break during elementary school, my grandmother, my father’s mother, came from Haiti to stay with us. While she was there, my parents asked her to write down in a notebook all the recipes she could remember. Over the course of the summer, she wrote down in her beautiful script dozens of recipes, from marinades to desserts. For all recipes I’ve translated and attempted to make so far, see here in the Kreyol Kitchen category. This shrimp cocktail is the latest one I’ve translated.



After reading through her instructions, here is how I made the shrimp cocktail recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. shrimp
• 1/2 small can tomato paste
• Mayonnaise
• Lemon
• Mustard
• Salt
• Pepper
• Bib lettuce

Directions:

1. Peel and chop the shrimp into small pieces.
2. Sautée with salt and pepper until cooked.
3. In a mixing bowl, spoon out half the can of tomato paste and mix in the same amount of mayonnaise, mustard and lemon juice.
4. Add the shrimp and mix it all together.
5. Chill in a refrigerator until ready to serve.
6. To serve, cover the dish in a bed of lettuce and spoon the shrimp mixture into it.
7. Serve cold.

See how easy that is?! And trust me, the shrimp cocktail tastes really good! The best part about putting the shrimp on a bed of lettuce is that it can easily be made into a wrap.

Let me know if you try this recipe!

For other seafood recipes in the Kreyol Kitchen, check out here and here.