Prawn cocktail with Fish

Absolutely Delicious Prawn Cocktail

How many times have you heard people talking about a prawn cocktail after they have been out for dinner or lunch, and you are envious because you know your budget just won't allow this bit of extravagance.

Well......we at Home Cooking Haven have a great recipe for this starter and what's more it is not as expensive as you think.   With this Prawn and fish recipe you can entertain your friends at home without overspending.

All of us that work on this website have served this as a starter to our families and friends on special occasions and everyone agrees that once you have tried it, you will soon find that no one ever gets tired of it, and you will use it over and over again.

Ingredients for our Special Prawn Cocktail

Washed and de-veined Prawns

• 400g cooked peeled headless prawns (in this recipe each serving should have 4 prawns).
• 400g cooked hake,
• 2 heaped tbspns mayonnaise.
• 1 level tsp tomato sauce.
• 1 small bay leaf.
• 1 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce.
• Splash of Tobasco Sauce.
• Salt and pepper to taste.
• Lettuce.
• 1 medium onion.
• 1 small lemon (TIP:  Lemons have excellent healing properties, one is that it is rich in     Vit C which helps with relief from the symptons of colds and flu.
  
  

                        Method

Right.....we have all the ingredients for our prawn cocktail, we are ready to start.(my mouth is starting to water just thinking of it).

And while we are at it, just bare in mind that these ingredients will serve approx. 4 to 6 people, and will probably not take longer than 45 minutes to prepare and clean up, and then another 5  minutes to plate.

Cooking the Fish

• Place a medium pot of water on the hob, add the hake  (no need to thaw if frozen),  onion,  bay leaf, salt and pepper to taste. 
  
  
• Cook until flaky, about 10 minutes.
  
  
• Drain the hake and place on a dish to cool off (no tasting at this stage he he he....).
  
  
• Place the required amount of prawns in water and bring to boil for 4 min (see tip below to stop the boiling water from overflowing).
  
  
• Drain and place in a plate to cool off ,(again no tasting yet he he he..)

The Dressing

• Mix the mayonnaise, tomato sauce and worcester sauce in a bowl.
  
  
• Add a splash of tobasco sauce, salt and pepper to taste, and put into fridge to chill.
  

Plating

• Shred the lettuce and place in the bottom of  your serving bowls ( we like to use a wine glass as you can see exactly what is in the cocktail).
  
  
• Flake the hake and add half the dressing and mix well.
  
  
• Divide the fish mixture as described above equally and place on top of the lettuce.
  
  
• Place prawns on top of the fish mixture.
  
  
• Pour the remainder of the dressing over the prawns and drizzle with squeezed lemon juice.
  
  
• If you  want to "dolly" it up, then sprinkle with a dash of paprika, place a slice of thinly sliced boiled egg on top and decorate side of the wine glass with some quartered cocktail tomatoes.
  
  
• WELL DONE you have now created a cocktail to compete with any top "fancy pants" restaurant.

We hope that you have enjoyed making this cocktail as much as we have enjoyed sharing the recipe with you.   Enjoy and God Bless.

This article was printed from Home-Cooking-Haven.com.com

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Oven Temp's

Cooking Terms and Tips

Al Dente: Usually applied to Pasta, means cooked until just done, but not soft. The pasta should still maintain some "bite:

Barbeque:  To cook foods over coals, known as a Braai in South Africa (The best in the world for this type of cooking).

Baste: To moisten food for added flavor and to prevent drying out while cooking.

Blanch: To cook briefly in boiling water to seal in flavour and color.

Bouquet Garni: A tied bundle of herbs, usually parsley, thyme, and bay leaves that are added to flavor soups, stews, and sauces but removed before serving.

Braise: Two cook first by browning, then gently simmer till done.

Bread: To coat with crumbs or cornmeal before cooking.

Broil: To cook on a rack or spit during or over direct heat, usually in and on top.

Brown: Two cook over high heat, usually on top of the stove, to brown food.

Caramelize: To Heat sugar until it liquefies and becomes a syrup.

Core: To remove the seeds or tough woody centers from fruits and vegetables.

Cream: The butterfat portion of milk.   Also to beat ingredients, usually sugar and a fat, until smooth and fluffy.

Cube: To cut food into small ½ inch cubes.

Cut In: To distribute a solid fat in flour using a cutting motion, with 2 knives used scissors-fashion or a pastry blender, until divided evenly into tiny pieces.  Usually refers to making pastry.

Croutons: These are tiny cubes of toasted or fried bread, used as a garnish.

Coriander:  Also known as Dhania.

Dollop: A spoonful of soft food such as whipped cream or mashed potatoes.

Dot: To scatter butter in bits over food.

Dress: To coat foods such as salad with a sauce.  Also, to clean fish, poultry or game for cooking.

Drippings: Juices and fats rendered by meat or poultry while cooking.

Drizzle: To pour melted butter, oil, syrup, melted chocolate, or other liquid back and forth over food in a fine stream.

Experiment:   Always keep to the basics, but, take out and put in spices etc. to your tastes.

Fines Herbs: A mixture of herbs, normally parsley, chervil, chives and tarragon used to flavor fish, chicken and eggs.

Glace: To coat foods with glossy mixtures such as jellies or sauces.

Julienne: To cut into long thin strips match-sticklike in shape

Macerate: To soak in flavoured liquid; usually refers to fruit

Picked Over:  If you are working with lentils or other beans you might sometimes find a few little rocks that managed to sneak their way in, picked over means to make sure there are none left in what you are going to be using.

Poach: To cook gently over very low heat  is barely simmering liquid just to cover.

Puree: To mash or grind food until completely smooth. Usually in a food processor, blender, sieve, or food mill.

Ragout:  The basic method of preparation involves slow cooking over a low heat.

Reduce: To thicken a liquid and concentrate its flavor by boiling.

Render: To cook fatty meat or poultry - such as bacon or goose - over low heat to obtain drippings.

Sear:  To brown surface of meat quickly over a high heat, to seal in juices.

Simmer: To cook in liquid at just below boiling point, with only a few bubbles breaking the surface.

Skim:  To remove surface foam or fat from a liquid.

Seep:  To soak in a liquid just under the boiling point to extract the essence i.e. Tea.

Truss: To tie whole poultry with skin or skewers so it will hold its shape in cooking.

Whip: To beat eggs or cream with a wire whisk, eggbeater or electric mixer which increases the volume as air is incorporated into the eggs or cream.

Zest: The outer, colored part of the peel of citrus fruits.

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