Shrimp-Gazpacho Shooters

I'm in a Spanish food kick right now. Probably because my parents are in Spain for a month (yes, they are spending our inheritance) and they've been having the time of their lives with the people and the food there. And in a few weeks we're having a baby shower for my sister-in-law and the food theme will be Spanish tapas. I created these little morsels to test out (a food rehearsal, if you will) and they were quite good. I got the recipe from Cuisine at Home and I used spicy tomato juice instead of regular. Try these on a hot summer day!

INGREDIENTS (makes 16 shooters)

• 1 cup tomato juice (spicy OK)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 tsp. tabasco
• 1/2 tsp. paprika
• 1 cup tomatoes, finely diced
• 3/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and finely diced
• 3/4 cup celery, finely diced
• 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 large garlic clove, finely minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 6 cups water
• 1/4 kosher salt
• 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 fresh sprigs of parsley
• 3 fresh sprigs of cilantro
• 3 to 4 lemon slices
• 16 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails left on
• Thinly sliced limes for decoration

DIRECTIONS

In a bowl, combine first 6 ingredients; cover and chill for 15 minutes.

To the bowl add the finely diced tomatoes, cucumber, celery, red onioin, cilantro, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste; cover and chill well.

In a large pot, heat water, kosher salt, lemon juice and lemon slices, bay leaves, parsley and cilantro sprigs and bring to a slight boil. Add shrimp and poach for 2 to 3 minutes just until pink. Drain and add shrimp to a ziploc bag. Add a pinch of kosher salt and a good pinch of black pepper to shrimp and distribute well; chill until ready to serve.

To serve: fill shot glasses halfway with gazpacho (about 3 tablespoons), hang a shrimp on the rim, and garnish with a lime. You can run a toothpick through the shrimp to stabablize it, if you prefer.