Rose sauce

In British cooking, rose sauce usually means a pink prawn-cocktail sauce made by mixing mayonnaise with tomato ketchup. Lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of Tabasco are common additions; recipes elsewhere may use cream and tomato instead.

Stir 3 parts mayonnaise into 1 part ketchup, then add a squeeze of lemon and a few drops of Worcestershire sauce. Taste before adding more ketchup: too much can make the sauce overly sweet and loose.

It is best known with cold prawns in a prawn cocktail, often served over shredded lettuce with lemon. You can also serve it as a dip for prawns, crab sticks, chips or crudités.

Keep it covered in the fridge and use homemade rose sauce within 2 days, especially if it contains homemade mayonnaise. Don’t leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

Freezing is not recommended: mayonnaise can split and turn watery when it thaws. Make a small batch instead, then stir it before serving.

For prawns, use lemon mayonnaise or a simple mayonnaise-and-ketchup mix if you have no ready-made sauce. If you want a sharper dip, serve horseradish sauce or lemony mayonnaise instead.