Aishling Moore: Here's my recipe for a classic shrimp cocktail

Shrimp cocktail by Aishling Moore. Picture Chani Anderson

I can’t think of a seafood dish that’s more synonymous with Christmas than prawn cocktail.

This weekend, I’m sharing my version of a classic shrimp cocktail, so you can get organised ahead of the big day or the big week.

I usually tend to avoid serving a starter on Christmas Day, with so much other food around the house, it’s a great way to cut down on waste. I’ll maybe serve this one on Christmas Eve, or the days leading up to or following it, for a light supper or lunch.

Christmas being all about tradition, I’ve resisted the urge to give this dish the Goldie treatment. We would usually include a little gochujang in the cocktail sauce base for a deep umami hit – gochujang is a Korean super condiment made with fermented soya beans and chilli – or a sprinkle of chopped kimchi to add a little funk to the salad component. Here I’ve added a spoonful of pickled celery instead for each salad, adding crunch. (This element needs to be made in advance)

For this version, I’ve used some dainty little native brown shrimp which always seem to be in good supply this time of year. You could also use langoustine for this recipe.

After blanching, the leftover shrimp shells won’t make a hugely flavourful stock. Instead, at Goldie, we dehydrate the shells and blitz to make a delicious little shrimp seasoning, preventing the shells from ending up in the bin!

A cheeky splash of brandy keeps this cocktail sauce festive, I’ve used a little Killahora Pomo’o Port here, a local apple port which works so well with the sweet prawns.

Killahora Orchard in Glounthaune, County Cork make some of the very best handmade Irish apple drinks. Growing a staggering 148 varieties of rare apples, they also make cider and rare apple ice wine, which is an excellent tipple to serve with Christmas pudding.

Shrimp Cocktail

For this version, I’ve used some dainty little native brown shrimp which always seem to be in good supply this time of year. You could also use langoustine for this recipe.

Servings

4

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the pickled celery

• 1 bunch of celery

• 150ml apple cider vinegar

• 150g caster sugar

• 150ml water

• 1 tsp coriander seeds

• 1 star anise

• For the shrimp mayonnaise

• 400g whole shrimp

• 230g mayonnaise

• 3 tbsp ketchup

• 2 tbsp crème fraiche

• 1 tsp Worcestershire

• 1 splash of hot sauce

• 1 splash of brandy

• Freshly cracked black pepper

• To serve

• 1 small head of iceberg lettuce

• 1 x batch pickled celery

• 1 lemon

• Smoked paprika

Method

1. For the pickled celery, slice the celery into 1cm pieces. Reserve the celery leaves for garnish.

2. In a small pot, place the apple cider vinegar, water, caster sugar and spices. Place on medium-high heat and bring to the boil.

3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before pouring over the celery.

4. Allow to sit for at least 3 hours before serving.

5. Bring a medium-sized pot of water to the boil and season generously with sea salt.

6. Prepare a large bowl of ice water to cool the shrimp.

7. When the water is at a rapid boil, add the shrimp and cook for 1–1.5 minutes until bright pink.

8. Using a large slotted spoon, remove from the boiling water and place in the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.

9. Remove from the ice bath, drain well and peel the shrimp.

10. Twist to remove the heads, pinch the tails to remove the remaining shell.

11. Keep refrigerated until serving.

12. For the pickled celery, slice the celery into 1cm pieces. Reserve the celery leaves for garnish.

13. In a small pot, place the apple cider vinegar, water, caster sugar and spices. Place on medium-high heat and bring to the boil.

14. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before pouring over the celery.

15. Allow to sit for at least 3 hours before serving.

16. In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, ketchup, crème fraiche, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and brandy. Season to taste with freshly cracked black pepper.

17. Add the cooked shrimp and fold through.

18. To assemble, select four of your best glass coupes or small bowls.

19. Finely slice the iceberg lettuce and add a small handful to each bowl.

20. Scatter a tablespoon of the pickled celery onto the lettuce.

21. Spoon over the cocktail sauce-dressed shrimp.

22. Dust with a sprinkle of smoked paprika. Garnish each bowl with a lemon wedge, some celery leaves and a whole shrimp.

23. Serve with brown bread.

Fish tales

• If you’d rather avoid the laborious task of peeling the shrimp, use 300g of cooked and peeled shrimp or prawns instead.
• Cooling the shrimp quickly is essential to prevent it from over-cooking, so ensure you add ample ice to the ice bowl to shock the shrimp and bring the temperature down promptly.
• Don’t allow the shrimp to sit in the ice bath for too long. This step is just to cool the shrimp, keeping in the water for too long will cause the shrimp to deteriorate.
• The shrimp can be cooked a day ahead and the dressing can be mixed a day ahead, just don’t combine the two until right before serving.
• Reserve four whole cooked shrimp for the ultimate garnish.
• Store the pickled celery in a sterilised glass jar in the refrigerator.