Seafood Cocktail

If you are someone who loves seafood, then a cocktail is just the perfect dish for you. It is super easy to make and does not take a lot of prep or cook time. In fact, it is the way to go if you don’t like spending time over a hot stove.

This super easy dish can be had as an appetizer or a main. What more? The burst of flavors from an array of aromatic herbs will take your Sunday brunch to a whole new level. It really is all in the sauce.

In this version of the classic seafood cocktail, we used scallops, prawns, squid, basa fish, and crabmeat. You can use any seafood of your choice like lobster, cod, snapper, crayfish or even mussels. If you love fish, then you can always whip up this dish with an assortment of the firm, white fish and leave out the other seafood altogether.

Health Benefits

Seafood is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA. It is thus, a very important component of our diet. Being rich in proteins, vitamins, and minerals, seafood helps in the prevention of an array of common diseases.

Ingredients

fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced: 1

green chillies, chopped: 5

tablespoons of fresh cilantro, finely chopped: 2

tablespoon of mixed herbs: 1

medium onion, cut into chunks: 1

minced garlic: 1 tbsp

medium capsicum, cut into chunks: 2

cup of mayonnaise: 1/2

tomato ketchup: 2 tbsp

Tabasco sauce: 1 tsp

large prawns: 12

scallops: 10

grams of squid (both tubes and tentacles), cleaned: 500

grams of basa fillet (fresh or frozen): 500

grams of crab meat: 250

olive oil: 2 tbsp

salt and pepper as per taste

How To Make Seafood Cocktail

1. Remove the shells from the prawns and clean them thoroughly. Make sure to keep the tails intact.
2. Check if all the internal organs and ink of the quid have been removed or not. Cut it into smaller bites.
3. Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan and add the minced garlic.
4. Sear the scallops on both sides. Add the other seafood in the pan. Cook them on medium-high heat. Be careful to not overcook the seafood else they will taste rubbery. Season the seafood with salt and pepper.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add the mayonnaise, lime juice, salt, pepper, ketchup, Tabasco sauce, green chilies, cilantro and mixed herbs. Mix thoroughly till well combined.
6. Add the jalapeno, onion, and capsicum and give it a stir.
7. Mix in the seafood. Be cautious to not break the delicate pieces of seafood.
8. Your seafood cocktail is good to go! Chill it in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Trivia

While seafood cocktail is a great way to celebrate the bounty of the sea, prawn cocktails are actually the most popular version of the dish. In fact, in the 1960s to 1980s, prawn cocktail was the most popular hors-d'oeuvre in Britain. Before the 1992 British general election claimed that they wouldn't interfere with the market economy to win the support of financial leaders and business tycoons. Their campaign was called as 'The Prawn Cocktail Offensive'.