Looking for a twist on the traditional shrimp cocktail? Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day and Easter, I have a recipe for Irish Seafood Cocktail that you will adore. It makes an impressive presentation, and the flavors will leave your taste buds wanting more. (Sous Chef requests this at least once a week.) It begins with very fresh seafood and ends with a spiked cocktail sauce.
The cocktail sauce starts traditionally with mayonnaise, ketchup, and some tabasco sauce. But then it is spiked with Cognac, which adds a complexity to the sauce that will leave your guests wondering what the secret ingredient is. (To learn more about Cognac’s taste profile and food pairings see: http://experiencecognac.com/food-pairing/.)
The Irish don’t live by shrimp alone (and apparently Irish Whisky either considering the use of Cognac), so this recipe adds crabmeat and prawns to the mixture. I truly did not know there was a difference between shrimp and prawns, and after reading about it I have decided I really don’t care and it really does not matter. So I skipped the prawns but used a fresh cooked Dungeness crab that stared vacantly at me from a bed of ice at Whole Foods. Although I liked Simply Irresistible with Sarah Michelle Gellar, the darling crab of that movie does not deter me from enjoying his relatives when the opportunity is presented.
This is one shrimp—make that seafood–cocktail you won’t get tired of and your guests will be begging for more!
- For the Seafood Cocktail
- ½ package baby lettuce of your choice
- ½ English cucumber, seeded and cut into 2 inch sticks
- 1 cup crabmeat
- 18 jumbo cooked shrimp
- Sea salt flakes
- lemon slices
- paprika for garnish
- For the Cocktail Sauce
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons ketchup (I like Stonewall Country Ketchup)
- ½ teaspoon Cognac
- ¼ teaspoon Tabasco Sauce
- Make the cocktail sauce by placing all ingredients in a bowl and mixing well.
- Divide the lettuce among four cocktail glasses or bowls. Place pieces of the cucumber slices on top of lettuce. Season with sea salt.
- Layer the crabmeat and shrimp on top of the cucumber. Add a dollop of cocktail sauce.
- Add another layer of shrimp and dollop of cocktail sauce.
- Garnish lemon slice, cucumber strips and a pinch of paprika.
I particularly love the recipe and the shot taken on it. Nice simple lighting. Great.