The prawn cocktail has been around now for a good 30 years, and has spent most of it see-sawing from the height of fashion to the laughably passé. This mixture of lettuce, prawns and Marie Rose sauce has seen countless amounts of tinkering, not all of it wise, and now tends to make its appearance with something of an ironic wink. The truth is that properly made, with sweet lettuce hearts and juicy prawns, it is the perfect way to start a summer's lunch. If it could leave its 70s baggage behind, it could get on with being what it is – a thoroughly delicious little salad.
The recipe
Shred a gem lettuce heart and pile it into a couple of chilled glasses. Peel and dice a cucumber and add it to the lettuce. Mix 4 tablespoons of decent mayo with 2 heaped teaspoons of tomato ketchup and a good shake of Tabasco. Toss with 250g plump peeled prawns, a squirt of lemon juice and pinch of paprika. Pile the dressed prawns on top of the lettuce and serve with a lemon wedge balanced on the side of the glass.
The trick
It is all in the sauce. Too many restaurant versions try to add the chef's signature, usually chopped skinned tomatoes, tarragon or gherkins – in a stroke, turning a classic into a travesty. The true sauce is principally mayonnaise, tomato ketchup and a couple of shakes of Tabasco. Simon Hopkinson, for whom this is something of a signature dish (he named one of his books after it), adds a heartening dash of Cognac. "You shouldn't muck about with it too much," he says.
The twist
Well, of course, there shouldn't really be one. Most twists involve swapping the prawns for crayfish tails or bits of lobster, but better surely is to rethink it entirely. I make a version in which I ditch the Marie Rose sauce altogether, then use diced cucumber, coriander leaves and red chillies as the base, seasoning the prawns with fish sauce and lime juice to produce a clean-tasting, Thai-inspired version. But I wouldn't dare call it prawn cocktail.