Classic prawn cocktail

Classic prawn cocktail

This classic retro starter packed with juicy prawns will never go out of fashion

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 25 mins

No cook

Method

  1. Peel all but 4 of the prawns (reserve these for the tops). Break the lettuces into individual leaves, then divide the leaves evenly between 4 small glass bowls.
  2. Sprinkle the prawns over the lettuce and season with black pepper.
  3. 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.
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Defrosting

Defrost prawns in the fridge for a few hours, and never in water as they will lose flavour. As they are sold ready-cooked, take great care if re-heating them; they must be piping hot, but don't overdo it or they'll shrivel and dry out.

Warm water prawns

The three main species available in the UK are from salt water, although occasionally giant freshwater prawns are available. Their size differs greatly, due to grading by size prior to sale. All have a dense, meaty texture and subtle flavour. Wild and farmed are available, as well as both cooked and raw - sometimes called 'green'. They are always frozen at source before transporting, so again, don't re-freeze. Best known is probably the striped tiger prawn.

Shell on prawns

Can't be beaten for flavour and texture. Although time-consuming to peel, they really are worth the effort and you can make great stock for risotto from the shells. At times, a shell-on prawn will have a dark green or black head - this occurs naturally due to a pressure change when the fishing nets are brought to the surface. Ready- peeled prawns are perfect sandwich-fillers.

Cold-water Atlantic prawns

These are sold as both peeled and shell-on. Most are cooked, then frozen, so find them in the supermarket freezer. If you buy them ready defrosted, don't be tempted to re-freeze them. Stocks have increased and the competition for the market means that they cost less now than they did 10 years ago

Preparing and cooking prawns

Once defrosted, peel if necessary. Raw prawns usually benefit from being 'butterflied' (split nearly in half through the back), then remove the dark vein - which tastes bitter and is gritty. Butterflying a prawn shortens the cooking time and helps give a firm, but not rubbery, texture. They turn a deep pinky-orange once cooked. This colour change does not guarantee that they are cooked - the best way to tell is when the prawn turns opaque right through to the centre.

Brown and pink shrimps

Theses are most often available ready-prepared and brown shrimps are usually sold as potted shrimps. They are caught, then cooked - many are frozen, but occasionally fresh whole or peeled are available.

Per serving

292 kcalories, protein 10g, carbohydrate 8g, fat 25 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 1g, sugar 8g, salt 2.23 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, August 2007.

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Latest comments and suggestions

  • Binder photo alfie

    19 January 2008

    alfie rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    nice sauce and great advice about the prawn varieties

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  • Binder photo Katie

    25 July 2008

    Katie commented on this recipe

    Fantastic. Anyone can make the sauce- have as a starter and then use the sauce in chicken burgers

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  • Binder photo Pixieloveheart

    25 April 2009

    Pixieloveheart rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I use this sauce all the time now when I make prawn cocktail and it never fails to impress. It's definitely worth using this instead of shop-bought thousand island. I mix the sauce with prawns, then spoon the mixture into halve and stoned avocados and serve with brown bread!

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  • Binder photo Shellby

    27 August 2009

    Shellby commented on this recipe

    Very easy to make, i used fantail prawns and they were gorgeous the sauce is lovely will not make any other way again amazing.

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  • Binder photo tina

    04 April 2010

    tina rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I made up a jar and hour or so before our dinner party then just mixed with the prawns before serving. Lovely..

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  • Binder photo JohnH

    22 October 2010

    JohnH commented on this recipe

    Just made this exact to recipt and served it, and every person commented on how tasty the sauce was I am very pleased. Thank You

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  • Binder photo JohnH

    22 October 2010

    JohnH rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Kellogsz

    19 March 2011

    Kellogsz rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo duffers

    08 April 2011

    duffers commented on this recipe

    This is so easy to make, and looks and tastes great. Play about with the sauce flavour before serving, and you will get lots of compliments :)

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  • Binder photo duffers

    08 April 2011

    duffers rated this recipe

    5 stars

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  • Binder photo Amalie

    07 June 2011

    Amalie commented on this recipe

    This is a brilliant recipe I made it and I can never cook but this came out perfect. It came out darker than normal just because of the tomato chutney type I used I guess but it didn't make any deference to the taste, delicious.

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  • Binder photo Redmachine

    15 December 2011

    Redmachine rated and commented on this recipe

    1 stars

    Sauce is very weird, not a fan

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  • Binder photo sutty88

    16 December 2011

    sutty88 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    The sauce was amazing! So easy and everyone loved it

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  • Binder photo Saundy

    27 December 2011

    Saundy commented on this recipe

    This was a great tasting dish. I made it as a starter for Xmas lunch. Everyone thought the flavours were fresh and intense. Much better than shop bought and so easy to make.

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  • Binder photo Lizag1982

    04 January 2012

    Lizag1982 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Great recipe - sauce was amazing, way better than any pre-bought ones. Added a little extra tobasco for more of a kick - family loved it for Xmas day starters!

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  • Binder photo rajipan

    06 March 2012

    rajipan rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Makea the perfect starter just how a prawn cocktail should be! Delicious and easy to make!

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  • Binder photo oz1974

    11 May 2012

    oz1974 rated and commented on this recipe

    3 stars

    The tomato chutney made the sauce extremely sweet, and we weren't too keen on it - won't make again.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 25 mins

No cook

All-time classic

Ingredients

  • 400g cooked atlantic shell-on prawns
  • 4 Little Gem lettuces , washed and trimmed
  • 5 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
  • 5 tbsp tomato chutney
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp creamed horseradish
  • tiny splash Tabasco sauce
  • squeeze lemon juice
  • paprika , for dusting
  • 4 tsp snipped chives
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Per serving

292 kcalories, protein 10g, carbohydrate 8g, fat 25 g, saturated fat 4g, fibre 1g, sugar 8g, salt 2.23 g

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