NO-COOK CHRISTMAS

NO-COOK CHRISTMAS January 7th Orthodox Christmas

Assemble this quick-to-make dish for a last-minute gathering

recipes BARNEY DESMAZERY photographs WILL HEAP

Seafood cocktail platter

Everyone has their own idea of what makes the perfect prawn cocktail, and this sharing platter means they can create it themselves. The actual seafood element can suit your price range, from good-value small prawns to lobster if you’re feeling flush. Even without the seafood, you have a very good vegetarian, salad bar situation happening. If you’d rather guests don’t assemble their own food, then you can easily serve the ingredients in glasses, or as a large mixed salad.

SERVES 4-6 PREP 15 mins NO COOK EASY

1 fennel bulb 70g rocket 100g cherry tomatoes 2 Little Gem lettuces 200g cooked prawns (choose a size that suits your budget – use prawns with the heads on, if possible) 100g white crabmeat extra seafood of your choice to add to the platter, such as lobster, smoked trout or extra-large prawns (optional) 1 large ripe avocado, halved, peeled, stoned and sliced olive oil, for drizzling 1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges, to serve For the dressing 5 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tbsp ketchup 1/2 lemon, juiced large splash of hot sauce or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl with a small pinch of salt and set aside. Can be made up to two days ahead and chilled. 2 Trim the fronds from the fennel and set aside, then slice the bulb as finely as possible (use a mandoline if you have one). Tip the sliced fennel, the reserved fronds and the rocket into three separate bowls of iced water, and let stand while you quarter the tomatoes and shred the lettuce. 3 Drain the fennel and rocket well, then arrange the fennel and its fronds, the rocket, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, prawns, extra seafood and avocado in separate piles or in small bowls over a large serving platter or board, along with the bowl of sauce in the middle (or, decant it into a squeeze bottle). Serve with olive oil for drizzling and the lemon wedges for squeezing over. Provide glasses or small bowls for everyone to create their own prawn cocktail, and a large empty bowl for those who want to toss ingredients together.

PER SERVING (6) 220 kcals • fat 16g • saturates 2g • carbs 5g • sugars 4g • fibre 5g • protein 12g • salt 0.9g