Prawn Cocktail A La Delia Smith Recipes

Steps:

• PRAWNS:.
• The very best version of this is made with prawns (either fresh or frozen in their shells) that you have cooked yourself.
• Failing that, buy the large cooked prawns in their shells, or if you can only get shelled prawns, get those.
• To prepare them: if frozen put them in a colander and allow to defrost thoroughly at room temperature for about 1 hour.
• After that, if using uncooked prawns, heat a large solid frying pan or wok and dry-fry the prawns for 4-5 minutes until the grey turns a vibrant pink.
• As soon as they're cool, reserve 6 in their shells for a garnish and peel the remainder.
• Then take a small sharp knife, make a cut along the back of each peeled prawn and remove any black thread.
• Place them in a bowl, cover with film wrap and keep in the fridge until needed.
• TO MAKE THE SAUCE::.
• Take mayonnaise and add it to the rest of the sauce ingredients.
• Stir and taste to check the seasoning, then keep the sauce covered with film wrap in the refrigerator, until needed.
• ASSEMBLY.
• When you are ready to serve, shred the lettuce and rocket fairly finely and divide them between 6 stemmed glasses, then peel and chop the avocado into small dice and scatter this in each glass amongst the lettuce.
• Top with the prawns and the sauce, sprinkle a dusting of cayenne pepper on top and garnish with 1 section of lime and 1 unpeeled prawn per glass.
• Serve with brown bread and butter.

Steps:

• Peel all but four of the prawns (reserve these for the tops). Break the lettuces into individual leaves, then divide the leaves evenly between four small glass bowls. Sprinkle the prawns over the lettuce and season with black pepper.
• Mix the mayonnaise, tomato chutney, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish and Tabasco together. Season to taste with lemon juice and salt and pepper, then spoon sparingly over the prawns. Dust the top with a little paprika and sprinkle with chives. Top with the remaining prawns and serve immediately. Delicious with brown bread.

Steps:

• Peel the prawns. Rinse them in a large sieve under a cold tap, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Lay the prawns in a shallow dish and squeeze over 1 tbsp of the lime juice, then add a twist of pepper. Set aside.
• Chop the cucumber into small dice and tip into a dish. Spoon over the vinegar, scatter over the dill and a grating of pepper, then set aside. Halve, stone and peel the avocado, then chop into small dice. Spoon over the rest of the lime juice and toss together gently with a twist of pepper.
• For the sauce, mix together the mayonnaise, fromage frais and ketchup. Stir in the Tabasco, Worcestershire and brandy with a twist of pepper.
• To serve, put a small spoonful of the sauce into the bottom of each cocktail glass. Very coarsely chop most of the watercress, leaving a few sprigs whole. Lay the chopped watercress on top of the sauce. Drain the cucumber well, then spoon it over the watercress with the avocado. Pile over the prawns, then spoon over the rest of the sauce. Tuck in the sprigs of watercress and serve with a sprinkling of cayenne.

Steps:

• To prepare prawns -remove heads and peel. I like to leave the tails intact for presentation (though if serving to children may be better to fully peel their prawns). Set aside.
• Layer lettuce leaves in the bottom of 4 small bowls. Top with 7 prawns to each bowl. Place them so that they can be seen around the edges of the bowl. Reserve remaining prawns.
• In a separate bowl combine chopped avocado and halved cherries. Mix and coat thoroughly with the juice of half a lemon. Place on top of the bowls of lettuce and prawns- share out amongst the 4 bowls.
• Top the cocktails with the remaining prawns (3 each bowl). Sprinkle with some herbs if desired and add some mayo or seafood sauce of your choice.