Ingredients
500 gms iceberg lettuce
800 gms Atlantic prawns (Raw, peeled)
1500 ml fish stock (made from readymade cubes)
150 gms cucumber (thinly sliced)
150 gms spring onions (thinly sliced)
100 ml cocktail sauce (recipe below)
1 lemon, cut into wedges
5 gms cayenne pepper
4 King prawns (optional)
Seasoning to taste
Cocktail Sauce
150 ml mayonnaise
150 ml tomato ketchup
5 ml Worcestershire sauce (at a push you can combine equal amounts of Balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and soy sauce to substitute, although it’s best to stick to Worcestershire)
1 ml Tabasco
5 gms cayenne pepper
Juice of ½ lemon
Dressing
50ml olive oil
30ml sunflower oil
50ml white balsamic vinegar
3ml lemon
Seasoning to taste
Method
1. Hand mix all the ingredients for the cocktail sauce together, season to taste.
2. Hand mix all the ingredients for the dressing together, season to taste.
3. Cut off the hard stems of the iceberg lettuce, then cut into half and half again. Wash in chilled water, shake and dry on kitchen paper.
4. Chiffonade or shred the iceberg – this is done by rolling the leaves from the lettuce half firmly into a cylinder. Hold the roll of lettuce and start to cut as thinly as you can, giving you long thin slices.
5. Pick through the prawns to make sure they are clean. Add the fish stock to a heavy pan and bring to the boil. Blanch the prawns for 3-4 minutes until they turn pink in colour and are cooked through, then drain. Place prawns on a tray and allow to cool.
6. In a bowl, mix together the chiffonade of iceberg, sliced cucumber and spring onion and add the dressing, about 2-3 tbsp.
7. To assemble prawn cocktail, to a glass add some of the iceberg mix, some prawns and cocktail sauce over. Do this until you have reached the top of the glass. Finish with cocktail sauce, sprinkle with cayenne pepper, one of the King Prawns, and a wedge of lemon. Repeat for other glasses. Serve straight away.
Image courtesy: Anas Thacharpadikkal
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