Tom Hunt shares a simple way to turn the dregs of a ketchup bottle into a classic Marie Rose dressing, a sauce that works as well on lettuce wedges as in a prawn cocktail.
Upcycling sauce remnants
Hunt's new favourite preparation for sauces, marinades and dressings is in a near-empty jar, tub or bottle, so he can upcycle all the remains. Rather than washing it and putting it in the recycling, he adds a few store-cupboard ingredients to create a dressing or sauce, often re-exploring classics such as a retro Marie Rose sauce or his yoghurt-pot chicken. It is a convenient way to use up the last dregs of a ketchup bottle, which often seems to harbour exactly the right amount of sauce.
A twist on a classic recipe
The Marie Rose recipe is inspired by the one in Simon Hopkinson and Lindsey Bareham's 1997 The Prawn Cocktail Years. It is wonderfully simple, with the sophisticated addition of a dash of cognac, though other recipes use brandy. Hunt had neither, but he did have some sweet vermouth left over, which worked exceptionally well, so he suggests experimenting with whatever spirits you have to hand – vodka, for instance, works brilliantly and gives the sauce a nice kick.
Serving suggestions and ingredients
Serve tossed with prawns, avocado, lettuce and cucumber in a classic prawn cocktail, or splat on to burger buns, or drizzle over wedges of iceberg lettuce garnished with celery leaves and capers, and dusted with paprika. Glass or plastic bottles both work, though squeezy ones help to deliver a chef-like drizzle.
Hunt recalls loving ketchup on just about everything as a kid, so mixing it with mayonnaise and prawns seems an odd concept, but it is surprisingly good – and a great way to use up the annoying last dregs in the bottom of the bottle. Besides the other dishes mentioned, Marie Rose also goes really well with avocado fries, if you happen to have an under-ripe avocado to hand.
The ingredients are: 4-5 tbsp mayonnaise, 1 tsp sweet vermouth or other spirit (vodka, cognac, brandy), 1-3 tbsp sriracha, Tabasco or other chilli sauce to taste, 1 small squeeze lemon juice, flaky sea salt and black pepper, 1 part-empty ketchup bottle with roughly 1-2 tbsp remaining, and paprika to finish, optional.
Using a funnel, if you have one, add the mayonnaise, vermouth, Tabasco (or other chilli sauce), lemon juice, a small pinch of sea salt and generous grind of black pepper to the near-empty ketchup bottle. Screw the lid back on and shake well. Taste, adjusting for seasoning, heat and acidity as required, then squeeze directly over your chosen dish. Finish with a pinch of paprika, if you like.
