Cajun-style Prawn Cocktail

Prawn cocktail. Never was there a more luxurious starter for us 80s kids - that mix of cool pink prawns, marie rose sauce sat on atop crisp lettuce. And even though it fell out of favour as though it was an embarassing throwback to the days where British food was still considered atrocious, whenever I eat it I remember how good it actually is.

Cajun-style Prawn Cocktail - photo by Louise Hagger

This pays homage to this classic starter but ramps up the texture with Cajun-spiced crispy prawns. These are a homage to an entirely different staple, one rooted in Creole cooking of Louisiana that incorporated West African, French and Spanish methods.

I first had Cajun shrimp in a po’boy in New Orleans and fell in love. The flavour is incredible - smoky with paprika and hot with cayenne - and the crispy texture is so addictive.

So it made sense to combine the two. I’ll always love each individual dish and their union they create something that harks back to both yet comes alive with something new.

Click for the recipe here on the BBC Good Food website.