Prawn cocktail with Mary Rose sauce. Now, I ask you, doesn't that sound good? I spoke with my mother-in-law on Christmas day and she and Peter made the traditional Christmas roast chicken dinner with roast potatoes, carrots and peas, with that wonderful gravy that is made with Bovril cubes. This meal is ...well, it is wonderful, that is all I can say! Peter is in charge of the roast potatoes and he is also the one who chooses the wine! (And I know they had their Christmas crackers and wore their little hats!) THIS year, Joan told me that she also made a Prawn cocktail with Mary Rose sauce and that she made the sauce herself. I have had this sauce when I was in England but it made me wonder, why is it called that? She told me that it had to have something to do with the old ship, the Mary Rose....
On July 19, 1545, the famous Tudor warship, the Mary Rose sank off the coast of England in the Battle of Solent. This ship was a favorite's of Henry VIII, said to be named after his sister. (This seems doubtful to me. I have also read that it was more likely named after the Virgin Mary, also known as the Mystic Rose at the time.) It was not until 1982 that the ship was brought up out of the waters. It was quite the job to do this, you may read more about it here. You may learn even more detail at this link- Mary Rose.
The salvage work took many years and of course, these men had to be fed! One day they had run out of sauce for the prawns (we call them shrimp in America!) and so the chef simply mixed a few ingredients together. He called it Mary Rose sauce! I didn't have time to ask my mother-in-law for her recipe and I don't know the exact amounts, but from my reading, it appears that it is a mixture of ketchup, mayonnaise, salt, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce! (It is similar to Thousand Island dressing but it is not exactly the same, not to my taste anyway.) I have also seen it called Marie Rose sauce and that was simply due to the fact that for a time any food that had a somewhat "French" name would garner more respect. No matter what it is called, Mary Rose or Marie Rose sauce, I think it is delicious. I like it with prawns inside a baked potato or a jacket potato, as they call it in England! Richard took a photo of my jacket potato with prawns and the Mary Rose sauce when we were in England a few years ago...he was impressed by the number of prawns!
(NOTE - I really don't know for certain that the Royal Navy chef came up with this recipe for the sauce while the work was being done to raise the ship. It DOES make for a good story but I have also read that it was invented by a woman named Fanny Cradock. Oh well, no matter how or who created it, I really like it!)
UPDATE- Please look in my comments and you will see 3 different recipes for Mary Rose Sauce from Lee from Australia! Thank you, Lee! She has the most wonderful recipes on her blog, go and visit her, why don't you? You may find her blog here!
Thanks again, Lee!
By the way, if you go to that link, you will see that the museum in Portsmouth which houses the Mary Rose closed in the autumn of 2015 but will re open in the summer of 2016! Go there, why don't you, and say that I sent you! And eat some Mary Rose sauce while you are at it! (I think we should say Mary Rose instead of Marie Rose!)
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Merry? Happy? Yes!!
It sounds delicious and I hope you find the recipe. Hope you post it, when you do.
ReplyDeleteHey Laurie! I made it yesterday to go with Baked cod and it was good! Look at the recipes in the comment below by Lee! Try it and let me know what you think!
DeleteI used to make this sauce, same recipe by the looks of it, to mix with prawns, tossed over lettuce, in the 1970s Prawn Cocktail (we had it at our wedding). We went to see the Mary Rose in 2004 at Portsmouth. It was difficult to see in the dim light, but I see they have now restored it and it is on proper display. I'd like to go again. So fascinating to think it lay under the sea all those years.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about this...the ship was found in 1971, so could the name of it still have come from the ship, the Mary Rose? After all, that must have made some gigantic headlines at the time, finding an English warship from the 16th century!! Would love to see this in Portsmouth myself, wish I could go and see it in the summer of 2016, when it will be newly displayed!
DeleteI so enjoy yur history lessons. The potato and suace looks good.
ReplyDeleteI love finding out about things, I believe that you are the same, right? :-)
DeleteLearning is my only talent.
DeleteWe share the love of learning new things!
DeleteSeafood isn't really "mine", so I'll pass the prawns, shrimps or whichever way you call them ;-)
ReplyDeleteBut I do like the Mary Rose story! You know how history fascinates me, so I think I'll follow the link and read up about the ship and how it was discovered.
Nothing wrong with posting about a dish without the recipe for it - I've posted cocktails and other things like that, too :-)
I found the story of the Mary Rose very interesting indeed! I wish I could see it myself!
DeleteThis sauce sounds so interesting. I had to look it up at wikipedia and they said at its most simple it can be just mayonnaise and ketchup. My mother used to make that and serve it with raw cauliflower florets and I still do from time to time. Tangy and with quite a crunch. But I never knew this story though I remember the excitement of an English professor friend of ours when the Mary Rose was raised. It really was amazing to read about it....And how I wish I were going to England next year! Maybe someday I'll be back. Our Christmas was beautiful but I have been really sick with a cold ever since. I'm hoping it goes away soon!
ReplyDeleteOh, I am sorry that you have been ill! I hope you are doing better now!
DeleteI made this sauce to go with some fish that we had for our dinner yesterday, and guess what, Kristi, it was good!! This is a big thing for me, because I am not very good in the kitchen, no kidding!!
It does make for a fun story, and i'm sure Sweetie, who loves prawns and shrimp, would enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteYou should try to make this sauce, I think you would like it too!
DeleteI enjoyed the story about the sauce and love shrimp so probably would like the sauce too. Hope you do manage to get the recipe, but still it's a nice to know your inlaws had it and enjoyed it. Merry Christmas to all !
ReplyDeleteLook at the comment below from Lee! She has given us 3 different versions of it!
DeleteGlad to speak with my in-laws on Christmas day, wish I could twinkle my nose and pop over and see them at the holidays! :-)
Like Patricia I recall this from the 1960s and 70s - long before the Mary Rose was raised (and called then Marie Rose sauce). It obviously came more from Fanny Cradock's days or earlier. Fanny and her husband Johnny Cradock were among the earliest TV chefs in the UK, inspiring 'women' in the immediate post-war era to make more exotic meals.
ReplyDeleteIf it was invented by Fanny Cradock, then why is it called Mary Rose/Marie Rose sauce? I couldn't find any explanation for the name, let me know if you can find out! Funnily enough, I read that Fanny Cradock lived in Bexhill in her later years and I still need to do a post about Bexhill, a place we visited while we were there in October!
DeleteThis all sounds so delicious! Thanks for sharing your story about the Mary Rose sauce, so interesting! Glad to hear you had a very Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteI like the sauce and it might be simple but I like it!
DeleteHope you had a happy/merry Christmas too!!
Kay, I sure won't be stealing your thunder...as I have no clue what mary rose sauce could ever be. :)Hope you had a fun time with your loved ones. Blessings, xoxo,Susie
ReplyDeleteMy dear, I have no thunder to steal! :-)
DeleteThis is really just a very simple seafood sauce...mix some mayo, ketchup, lemon juice, salt and Worcestershire sauce, tasting it as you go, and you should be pleased with the result! Blessings to you, sweet Susie! xx
Here are a couple of recipes for the prawn cocktail sauce, Kay....
ReplyDeleteCocktail sauce- No. 1 - 140 ml thick good-quality mayonnaise 1 tbsp tomato sauce 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp finely grated fresh horseradish Pinch of cayenne pepper Dash of Tabasco sauce
No. 2
1 cup mayonnaise
½ juice of lime + zest
½ t/s tabasco sauce (or to taste)
1 Tbs tomato sauce
2 Tbs finely chopped coriander
salt & pepper to taste
No. 3
Sauce from scratch...making own mayonnaise.
1 medium Egg yolk
1 tsp White wine vinegar
1 pinch Mustard powder
75 ml (2.6fl oz) Sunflower oil
25 ml (0.9fl oz) Extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp Tomato ketchup
0.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 A few drops Tabasco sauce
1 tsp Brandy
1 tsp Lemon juice
1 pinch Paprika
Place the egg yolk, vinegar and mustard powder in a clean, grease-free bowl with a tiny pinch of salt. Mix the oils together and add a little dribble of the oils to the bowl. Start whisking. Add the oils, a tiny dribble at a time, whisking constantly until the mayonnaise thickens and emulsifies. Stir the ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, brandy, lemon juice and paprika into the mayonnaise and season to taste. Set aside.
I feasted on prawns and other fresh seafoods for Christmas lunch but I prefer them with just the good old vinegar...so that's what I had...a bowl of vinegar for dipping! :)
Here Down Under the sauce served with a prawn cocktail is simply called "Cocktail Sauce" - I've never heard of it called "Mary Rose Sauce" - so I guess the latter is unique to the UK.
DeleteAh, then you see, by telling me this one little thing, that you call it cocktail sauce in Australia, but it is called Mary Rose sauce in England, it MUST be because of the ship, the Mary Rose, don't you think so too?
DeleteAND thank you very much for these recipes!! I appreciate it!!
I agree with you re the name of the sauce, Kay.
DeleteAs you know I spent many years in the hospitality industry, cooking and in other roles...and the sauce served with seafood cocktails and/or prawn cocktails was never called by that name down here in the Land Down Under. :)
Yes! I think I could be a detective, don't you, Watson? I mean, Lee? HA!!
DeleteNow that's how a potato should be stuffed! Looks delish and I'm glad some bloggers have the recipe for you. Sounds good! I think you're the only blogger I know that gives so much fun info and history while throwing in a food tidbit too! Thanks! Hope your Christmas was merry and happy!
ReplyDeleteYou should feel sorry for any teacher I ever had. I so often would be reminded of something as we were learning in school and would go off on a tangent and want to share it with my classmates. "You are getting off the subject, Kay", is what I would hear. I would WANT to say, "Well, why can't our brains take in a bit more along the same lines of the subject?".
DeleteAnd happy new year to you and your family!
I'm not a big fan of prawns but that Mary Rose Sauce sounds quite nice really. I might have to give them a go.
ReplyDeleteGive it a go, it is really simple but I like good simple food!
DeleteWell, whatever it is, it looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteIt is!
Deleteunrelated to this, I noticed that blank quote the other day. It was the result of copying and pasting and It seems to be fixed now, thanks for noticing and letting me know about it.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome! The same thing happened to me on a post once, my words were on there but the white part was behind the words, kind of a ghostly quality!
DeleteI was never conscious of hearing of this sauce until your blog post, but the next day in a mystery book I was reading (I think one of the M.C. Beaton Hamish highland mysteries) two characters order Marie Rose Prawns...I felt so in the know!
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny and I love that you told me in this comment, little things like that really amuse me, so I thank you!
DeleteHappy 2016, Kristi!! x