Prawn cocktail Recipes

Ingredients

1 iceberg lettuce, very finely shredded

24–36 fresh cooked prawns, peeled with tail intact

2 lemons, sliced into wedges

Cocktail sauce

250 ml mayonnaise

60 ml Worcestershire sauce

60 ml brandy

120 ml tomato sauce

1 tablespoon grated horseradish salt and pepper

60 ml pouring cream, lightly whipped

Method:

1. for the cocktail sauce—Mix all ingredients except cream. When combined, fold in the whipped cream. refrigerate, covered, until needed.

2. To assemble—There are several ways to put this dish together. The old way uses prawn cocktail glasses probably available at a ‘trash and treasure’ market on any given sunday. The new way is to form a small mound of shredded lettuce in the centre of a plate, prop the prawns against the lettuce and drizzle with cocktail sauce, serving each with a lemon wedge.

HINTS AND TIPS:

* You will need—cutting board, cook’s knife, paring knife, bowls, liquid and spoon measures and the equipment needed to make mayonnaise.

* The prawn cocktail was a dinner party hit in the 70s and early 80s, and made a tasteful comeback in some Restaurants in the late 90s. It still appears now and then, and if done well will be one dish that will never quite go away.

* Depending on the size of the prawns, 4–6 per person for an entree is enough. If this is to be more of a substantial dish, then use as many as would fit in the dish.

* Always check prawns for freshness, and ask when they were cooked and if frozen, how long they have been frozen for. Waterlogged or tired, old prawns will make this dish horrid.

* At a dinner party, wrap half a lemon in muslin or cheesecloth and tie neatly. This will prevent seeds from getting into the salad.

* Shred a small handful of flat-leaf parsley and mix into the lettuce to give the iceberg lettuce some lift.

* Make bite-sized prawn cocktails as finger food by using the inner leaves of cos lettuce as an edible cup—shred some of the outer leaves, chop up the prawns and drizzle with the sauce and serve in the smaller inner leaves.