Bob Hart's Prawn Cocktail

This recipe makes two:

MAKE marie rose cocktail sauce: Mix 1 generous tbs tomato ketchup into 5 tbs mayonnaise - bottled American mayo such as Best Foods works well for this; home-made is also excellent, of course, and Heinz tomato ketchup is perfect. Do not use a designer ketchup, or a home-made one. Stir in 1tsp sour cream.

Then, stir in 1 tsp sour cream, 1tsp cognac, a couple of shakes of Tabasco and a squeeze of lemon juice. That's it.

Peel and de-vein 400g school prawns, if available, or small to medium kings. Remove the core and outer leaves from an iceberg lettuce and slice about half of it, thinly (chiffonade). Slice the white of a couple of spring onions very thinly. Peel, de-seed and finely dice about a quarter of a cucumber. Finely dice half a firm avocado (optional), taking care to squeeze a little lemon juice over it to prevent browning.

TO ASSEMBLE: Place a nest of the lettuce in the bottom of two very large wine glasses, add some spring onion and cucumber. Begin to add the prawns, adding the avocado cubes as you go. Drape the prawns with the marie rose sauce and finish with a sprinkle of sweet paprika. Tradition suggests you finish the dish by hanging a whole prawn from the rim of each glass, and perhaps a lemon segment, partially peeling back the skin to lock it to the glass. Eat, and pretend it's 1960.