You can say whatever you want, but a good Prawn cocktail is always a nice way to start a meal 🙂 I know some chefs out there call it old fashion but I don’t care… I like it and guess what? It’s pretty much my boyfriend’s favourite starter 🙂 How lucky am I?
Prawn cocktail was a very popular dish in the 60’s all the way to the 80’s mainly in the UK but also popular in the USA. The original dish is all about the sauce and good quality prawns that you should cook yourself. Originally the sauce was only mayonnaise, ketchup and Tabasco sauce. Along the years, the sauce suffered several additions which shows how versatile this dish can be: in the late 20th century, we saw the addition of a few drops of Brandy, then Worcestershire sauce among others.
Nowadays, chefs add their own twist to this dish in an attempt to modernize it or to call their own. But this is a classic that it will always please your guests. In Britain, several restaurants and hotels still include it in their menu. The sauce is also very popular with oysters and some say that the original cocktail was made with them, not with prawns. Whichever way you decide to make it, I’m sure it will always be delicious.
I’ve made several versions of prawn cocktail and this time I decided to add capers. It was a nice choice as their saltiness added a different and delicious taste to the sauce 🙂
Prawn cocktail
Ingredients
- 4 lettuce leaves cut into julienne
- 200 g of cooked medium sized prawns cut into small pieces (reserve 2 whole prawns for decoration)
- 125 g mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp French mustard
- 2 tbsp cream
- 2 tbsp capers
- 2 tbsp Port wine or whisky
- Tabasco to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 lemon cut into wedges
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix well the mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, cream, port wine, a few drops of Tabasco sauce and capers.
- After all the ingredients are well combined, add the prawn pieces and mix well.
- Distribute the lettuce by the serving glasses/bowls.
- On top, spread the sauce with the shrimp.
- Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve garnished with 1 whole shrimp in each glass/bowl and lemon wedges