This easy mixed seafood cocktail is the starter you need for your summer night

Summer is the favorite time of the year in my opinion. The weather is great, and more people plan their backyard get-together around this time. The fact that we are not in normal times does not mean that you cannot have a few friends over for a full course dinner.

The only thing necessary is to make sure all the COVID-19 safety protocols are being observed such as keeping a safe social distance, wearing face masks (comes off at a socially distanced table setting when eating though), washing hands accordingly for 20 seconds with soap under running water and certainly keeping your hand sanitizers close.

Now a mixed seafood cocktail for a starter on a slightly warm summer night is the perfect way to begin the night. The classic recipe is a banger, but it is always fun to experiment with other seafood in a fun way to bring all that seafood flavor in one bite.

This starter is easy to make and it will save you a great deal of time if they are pre-made ahead of the dinner and refrigerated.

Good To Know’s top tip for making a seafood cocktail when there is no Marie Rose sauce on hand is to “add a little wasabi and a squeeze of lemon to your mayo – it has a great kick and goes so well with the prawns.” Also, add some hot smoked salmon to this recipe and let us know how it goes.

Ingredients

175g good-quality mayonnaise

3tbsp tomato ketchup

Few drops Tabasco

1-2tsp Worcestershire sauce

500g North Atlantic cooked prawns

1 large ripe avocado, finely chopped

1⁄4 large cucumber, chopped

6 dill sprigs, leaves removed and chopped

Zest and juice of 1⁄2 lemon

3 small heads of gem lettuce, leaves removed

100g fresh or tinned white crabmeat (drained if tinned)

Lemon wedges

6 large tail-on cooked prawns

100g hot smoked salmon

 

Method

Mix the mayonnaise with the tomato ketchup, Tabasco and Worcestershire sauce. Stir prawns through; set aside.

Mix the avocado, cucumber, dill, lemon juice and zest together and season.

Remove the dark green outer leaves of the little gems and shred the rest. Put 3 whole leaves into each glass and top with shredded lettuce. Add the prawns and hot smoked salmon, then 2⁄3 of the avocado mix, the crab and finally the remaining avocado mix.

Garnish each glass with a large prawn and serve with lemon wedges