Marie Rose / Cocktail Sauce

The 1970s prawn cocktail dressing — pink, sweet-sour, unimpeachable.

Invented at Fanny Cradock's kitchen table or maybe Fortnum's — nobody quite agrees. Mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, Worcestershire, a squeeze of lemon, a splash of brandy if you're feeling fancy. Poured over Atlantic prawns on iceberg lettuce, it defined a decade of British dinner parties.

Method

01
Whisk together 200g mayonnaise, 3 tbsp good tomato ketchup, 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, a squeeze of lemon.
02
Add a small splash of brandy — 1-2 tsp — for grown-up depth.
03
Season with a pinch of cayenne and white pepper. Never black — the flecks look wrong.
04
Chill 30 minutes. Taste — it should be tomato-forward, sweet-sour, with a whisper of heat.

Chef's notebook

“Use good ketchup — Heinz or bust. Cheap ketchup ruins it.”
“A dash of Tabasco can replace the cayenne if you like the heat sharper.”