Shrimp with Avocado Salsa

This wonderful appetizer or cocktail food was adapted from Thomas Keller's recipe (The French Laundry cookbook). You don't have to go through this difficult way of plating it individually -- serve it like you would a shrimp cocktail, with the shrimp in a big bowl and the salsa in a small bowl.

Ingredients:

20 medium shrimp, in their shell, deveined

3 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons very finely diced red onion

3 tablespoons very finely diced cucumber

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons finely diced avocado (prepare just before serving)

1 teaspoon olive oil

A squeeze of lemon juice, or to taste

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

20 tomato diamonds (remove seeds from 2-3 firm tomatoes and slice into diamond shapes)

Directions:

Bring the broth to a simmer in a large saucepan, add the shrimp, and simmer for 1 minute.

Remove from the heat, pour the lot into a bowl, and let the shrimp cool in the liquid. (Cover and refrigerate for up to a day before serving.)

In a bowl, mix the red onion and cucumber. Carefully fold in the avocado, taking care not to crush it. Season with the oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Peel and de-vein the shrimp, removing the shells carefully and keep the meat of the tails intact. Dry the shrimp on paper towels.

Spear each shrimp on the tip of a large fork. Place a spoonful of salsa on the fork behind each shrimp. Arrange the forks on a platter and garnish each mound of salsa with a tomato diamond. Alternatively, arrange the shrimp decoratively on a large platter, and put the salsa in a small bowl placed in the center of the dish. Serves 4.