Sweet, succulent crayfish & creamy avocado, served on a bed of crisp, fresh lettuce with a light, zingy herb dressing…

We’re going a little bit retro today – but (as all the cool kids say), with a modern twist…

Do you have a go-to meal that you ALWAYS chose when you went out for a meal as a kid? For me, it was prawn cocktail starter, followed by scampi and chips and then some form of ice cream.

(PS. If anyone can name the 1980’s frozen ice cream loaf thing that people bought for special occasions then I will love you for ever – I’ve been trying to think of it for ages and am having a mental block..)

Anyhoo, this recipe is a little bit inspired by ye olde prawn cocktail, but using crayfish because, well, it’s in season now y’all! Plus I’ve switched out the Marie Rose (much as I love a good Marie Rose), for something a little lighter and fresher.

(PS. When I was little, I wrote a poem about the Mary Rose which began:

‘The Mary Rose was a fine, fine ship,

the heart of Henry’s navy,

if you had told him she was going to sink,

he would have said you were crazy!’

As you can see, I was destined to write…)

This little beaut works as a starter or a light lunch and if you don’t have any crayfish to hand, then it will work just as well with prawns, crab or even chicken.

It is super summery and light. The crayfish are all sweet and perfect at this time of year. The lettuce adds crunch and bite, the avocado adds mellow creaminess and the dressing is fresh, zingy and finishes it off perfectly. Go on – give it a go – you’re gonna want that dressing on everything!

Oh – and I’ve put the crayfish cocktails in jars – that way you can pack them up and take them for lunch to work. Ingenious, no?

Crayfish Cocktail in a Jar

Serves 2 as a light lunch (or 4 as a starter – using smaller jars!)

You will need:

2 x 500 ml jars (optional!)

Approx. 1/4 Cos lettuce (or any other crisp lettuce – eg. iceberg or little gem)

1 avocado

140 g prepared crayfish

For the dressing:

200 ml Greek yoghurt

1 handful of basil leaves

1 handful of mint leaves

1 anchovy fillet (from a jar)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbs cider vinegar

Seasoning

• Blitz all the dressing ingredients in a blender (you will probably end up with more than you need, but it makes a great dip or dressing for a green salad)
• Fill your jars about halfway with chopped lettuce and then add the sliced avocado
• Add a spoonful of dressing and some crayfish in layers until you’re out of crayfish – NB – if you’re putting these in jars to take to work, add the dressing and crayfish FIRST with the salad on top (you will also want to put some lemon juice on the avocado to stop it browning if you’re not going to eat it straight away)
• Just in case you were wondering – this recipe DOES work as well on plates or in bowls 😉