It's been à la mode and it's been dismissed as a hackneyed old 60s cliché — but the prawn cocktail is once again beginning to reclaim its status as a Christmas Day staple on the dining table. According to the Mirror this week it has stood the test of time since its culinary heyday half a century ago.
The signature hors d'oeuvre has been a crowd-pleaser to tickle the palate just before the big bird lands on the table, with its light freshness cutting through all the other festive stodge. But did you know you might have been making a bit of a party faux pas by serving it with lashings of Marie Rose sauce without questioning the recipe?
Celebrity chef Adrian Martin thinks so. He has revealed a common mistake people make before filling the glass dish with the tasty mixture. The owner and head chef of the Wildflower Restaurant in London has shared a pearl of wisdom ahead of Christmas Day and that could elevate your simple prawn cocktail to great heights.
The Six O'Clock Show star first revealed his secret touch on RSVP Live, saying that many cooks ruin their Marie Rose sauce by adding too much vinegar, leaving it far too sharp. The prawns you buy will also make or break the starter, he says.
Martin warns: "Too much vinegar in the sauce for the prawn cocktail can overpower the whole dish. And cheap rubbery prawns are also a no-go. If you can get your hands on good quality prawns, it will make a huge difference."
The chef jokes that at Christmas he tends to become an "agony aunt", as people flood him with email admissions of failed festive dishes, begging for help on how to make the best prawn cocktail. For Martin, his secret is to add some sweet chilli sauce to offset the acidity and to add a sweetness accompanied by a "kick".
However, he admitted that the prawn cocktail was not a favourite in his household, having not had a good reception in previous years. He said: "I will be very honest, prawn cocktail is not the starter of choice in our house. I made it once and everyone hated it."
Martin's advice came as other experts shared top tips for saving more than two hours on Christmas Day by prepping some dishes in advance. KItchen experts at Tap Warehouse explained that the secret was all in the prep work. One handy trick was to parboil and freeze the roast potatoes ahead of the day, thus avoiding the stress of a busy Christmas morning. It would also create the perfect crispy roast potato, they promised.
The kitchen experts' advice was to peel and chop the potatoes and parboil them for 5-10 minutes; drain them and return them to the pan before shaking the pan to roughen the surfaces. According to recipes, this could save you 25 minutes on the big day. Once the potatoes are cool, freeze them until Christmas Day. There's no need to defrost them on the day — simply add them to a tray of hot olive oil and cook them in a fan oven at 200°C for 40-50 minutes until crispy.
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