All married couples have stories to tell about their courtship and one of mine revolves around a famous appetizer.
My wife and I first met about 33 years ago when we were working in the same hotel kitchen. I was a chef’s apprentice, just learning the trade, and she was a garde manger, a cold-food specialist who prepared salads and starters for the hotel restaurant.
A popular appetizer on the menu was shrimp cocktail. And that meant my not-yet-wife had to cook kettles full of large shrimp and cool, peel and devein them.
When I was supposed to be going off shift and noticed her doing that work, I would hang around and help her peel. Not exactly like meeting at a Paris café for lunch but, as we did the work, we chatted, got to know each other and became attached.
Other couples have “our song” to remind them of the days of their youth. We have “our appetizer” — shrimp cocktail — to bring back warm memories of those long-ago days at the hotel.
There must be a new generation of young chefs chatting and perhaps falling in love over cold shrimp because, we notice, this appetizer still appears on menus.
That’s an impressive run for a dish that was first served in North American restaurants more than a century ago. And it’s still served with a sauce the key ingredient of which is something you also dip french fries in.
According to the food history website foodtimeline.org, a survey of old American cookbooks confirms the combination of shellfish and a piquant tomato-based sauce — usually ketchup spiced with horseradish, Tabasco and cayenne — was served in tiny cups as an appetizer that was extremely popular in the early part of the 20th century.
That website notes that during Prohibition, in the 1920s, these “cocktail” appetizers were served in the glasses that had been bought to serve gin cocktails. It was a creative way to use glassware that the restaurant owner could no longer fill with booze.
At first, oysters were the cocktail shellfish of choice. But shrimp variations were popular in a few cities and the fashion for shrimp eventually spread to restaurants all over the continent.
The basic recipe for shrimp cocktail — which is miles away from those cheap and dreadful, thaw-and-eat shrimp rings you see for sale at nearly every supermarket these days — has not changed a lot over the years.
Today’s recipe walks you through the steps and the fact box below right explains how to peel and devein the shrimp.
You’ll note in the recipe that the shrimp are cooked in court bouillon. This is a liquid made by flavouring water with lemon, onion, peppercorns, bay leaf and salt. Cooking the shrimp in it deepens and enhances their flavour and makes them pair well with the tangy cocktail sauce.
If making shrimp cocktail seems too difficult (or you don’t have suitable glassware), you can make today’s canapé recipe instead. It presents the elements of a shrimp cocktail in tasty, easy-to-make little bites.
Classic Shrimp Cocktail
These chilled, plump shrimp served with a tangy sauce will make a fine start to a festive holiday meal. Expand the recipe if you’re feeding a larger crowd.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: About 10 minutes
Makes: 6 servings
For the cocktail sauce
3/4 cup ketchup or chili sauce, such as Heinz brand
1 1/2 Tbsp prepared horseradish
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1Ú2 to 1 tsp hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Cocktail sauce can be made many hours in advance.
For the court bouillon and shrimp
10 cups water
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
12 whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp coarse sea or kosher salt
36 large or extra-large, raw unpeeled shrimp or prawns (see Note)
Place all ingredients except shrimp in a tall pot. Bring to a boil over high heat. Now lower the heat until the court bouillon gently simmers. Simmer the court bouillon five minutes. Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with ice water.
When the court bouillon has simmered five minutes, add the shrimp. Return to a simmer, and cook three to four minutes, or until just cooked through. (Shrimp are cooked when they turn bright pink and feel just slightly firm to the touch. If the shrimp feels overly soft, it’s not cooked through. If it has become very firm, the shrimp is overcooked.)
When cooked, drain the shrimp. Submerge them in the ice water to cool. When cold, peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails intact. Set shrimp on a plate, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Shrimp can be prepared many hours in advance of serving.
To make the shrimp cocktail
3 cups crushed ice (see options)
6 lemon wedges
6 Italian parsley sprigs
Divide and place the ice into 6 martini or other decorative V-shaped glasses. Place a small bowl of the cocktail sauce on the ice in the centre of each glass. Hook 6 shrimp on the rim of each glass. Garnish with a lemon wedge and parsley sprig and serve.
Note: Shrimp (or prawns) are sold according to size and count per pound. Good sizes to use for shrimp cocktail are the extra large (16 to 20 units per pound) or the large (21 to 25 per pound). This size presents well because the shrimp are large enough to be hooked onto the cocktail glass.
Eric’s options: Instead of crushed ice, you could fill each cocktail glass with shredded head lettuce. If you do that, be sure the glasses are well chilled before filling them. Also don’t worry about putting the cocktail sauce into tiny bowls. Just spoon it directly onto the lettuce.
Shrimp Cocktail Canapés
These delicious little canapés featuring the elements of a shrimp cocktail are served on rye bread rounds, great for a stand-up party.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: none
Makes: 24 canapés
24 cocktail rye bread rounds (see Note)
1Ú2 cup spreadable cream cheese
1 1Ú2 cups mixed baby salad greens
1Ú2 lb small cooked, fresh or frozen (thawed) salad shrimp, patted dry
1Ú3 cup cocktail sauce, store-bought or homemade (see Classic Shrimp Cocktail recipe)
24 small parsley sprigs
Spread or pipe a thin layer of cream cheese on each piece of rye bread. Top with a few leaves of the salad greens. Place two or three shrimp on each canapé. (Canapés can be made to this point several hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until needed.) Top the shrimp on each canapé with a small spoonful of cocktail sauce. Garnish them with a parsley sprig and serve.
Note: Ready-to-use rye-bread rounds are sold in plastic tubs at most supermarket delicatessens. If unavailable, use a round cookie cutter to cut thin slices of rye bread into 1 1Ú2-inch (4 cm) rounds, or use a small, sturdy round cracker as the base for these canapés.
Eric Akis is the author of the hardcover book Everyone Can Cook Everything. His columns appear in the Life section Wednesday and Sunday.
