Prawn Cocktail.

Thursday 22nd December 2011

The classic prawn cocktail has been around for as long as I’ve been born. Making its first appearance in a decade when Britain was being flooded with new ingredients like avocados or angel delight.

Being a child of the 70’s, I sometimes have a hankering for something from the days when the Fonz was king & trousers with an elasticated waste were the height of fashion.

Thanks to Mum & Dad & the fact that my big sisters actually liked me, I was lucky enough to have had an excellent childhood. This was no mean feat judging by my peer’s experiences. I was allowed to run around & get dirty like a more contemporary version of Huckleberry Finn.

I’m sure you may have gathered by now that food was also of great importance. There are some key dishes from that era which, I’m positive, have shaped me as a person & have possibly changed my life entirely. Prawn cocktail is mearly one of those meals. It smacks of celebrations, comfort, glamour & excitement. From the crisp shredded lettuce to the juicy, tender prawns & finally the spicy & sweet Marie Rose sauce.

Mine was a classic with a twist. I shredded flat leaf parsley with the lettuce then topped it with finely diced onion, tomato, pineapple & cucumber before adding the peeled prawns in the dressing. The cocktail sauce was made up of mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, with a sprinkle of paprika on the top.

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