When I first visited London about 30 years ago it was not the cosmopolitan city it is today. It had a small city feel. Restaurants consisted mostly of pubs and a few Indian joints, all night life pretty much shut down with the tube and the pubs at 11 pm.
![]() |
Me in a restaurant London 1984 |
There was some signs that London was to become the cosmopoltian city it is today. It was at my hotel's restaurant that I ate a delightful prawns and avocado appetizer. It was very simple: prawns stuffed into a halved avocado and topped with a creamy tomato based dressing that tasted like a cross between Russian and Thousand Island. It impressed me enough that I still remember it to this day.
Prawns (Shrimp) Avocado Appetizer
by Diane Balch
simplelivingeating.com
preparation 15 minutes services: 4
Ingredients:
16 shrimp cooked and peeled
2 large ripe avocados halved
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt n pepper
Thousand Island Salad Dressing in a squirt bottle
Directions:
1) Cook shrimp until opaque, approximately 5 minutes if frozen, 1 minute if fresh, in boiling water that has 1 tablespoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice in it.
2) Halve avocados and immediately brush them with lemon juice. Sprinkle a little bit of salt on the halves.
3) Plate the avocado halves and arrange 4 shrimp in the hollow. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper and squirt dressing over them.
4) This can be served immediately or cover the dish with plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour or up to 3 hours. (Do not salt shrimp or avocado or put dressing on them until you are ready to serve.)
Remember to visit and follow my co-host Adelina at Home Maid Simple she has different features and a wealth of information about family and home care.
Foodie Friday Features:
From: I Thee Cook
Perfect Macaroni Salad |
Super flavorful classic mac salad...perfect for your next picnic.
From: Call Me PMc
From: Call Me PMc
![]() |
Fresh Zucchini Tart |
Is your garden exploding yet with zucchini? If it is here is a tasty tart to cook some of it up with.
A storm and a celebration go into this exoticly flavored ice cream.
This post is shared on the following food/craft parties be sure to check them out:
Tuesday Food:
Wednesday Food:
Thursday Food:
Friday Food:
Instructions for Foodie Friday linky:
This is a food party please link up only 3 food related posts. Thank you.
Click on at least 3 other recipes.
SUBSCRIBE TO THE PARTY HOSTS: BY EMAIL OR RSS...
or FRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK
SPREAD THE WORD: PIN, FB, TWEET ETC... this party. It is good for you and me.
1) Copy the Foodie Friday Button's html from this website's sidebar.
2) Paste this html to the html page of the recipe you want to link to Foodie Friday. You can also make a word link or post our button on your sidebar. Please link back.
3) Copy the link to the recipes you want to add to Foodie Friday, not your homepage.
4) Click on "your next" on this page.
5) Past your link and type in the name of the recipe, not your name.
6) Choose how you want to download the photo.
By posting in this party you are giving this blog permission to reprint (with a link to your post) in recipe roundups and featured posts any recipes/articles you share with us.
thanks for hosting the party! :) Love that picture of you in London! I'd love to go! Hope you have a great night!
ReplyDeleteyou are very welcome Danielle, you have to love my 1980's hair.
DeleteYou totally rocked the 80's look, I love it! Thanks for the party, Diane. Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI got my hair cut when I arrived in London. It took two years to grow out all of the layers. They cut my hair with a razor blade.
DeleteIt was cute, very natural! I went for the tease and spray look back then....and don't forget the spiral perm, too. Yikes!
DeleteI did have a perm before this spikey cut... oh my I don't think there was a natural style back then at all. So funny to look back on.
DeleteYummy features! Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDeleteI hope you get to try one of them. Thanks so much for coming to the party.
DeleteThank you, Diane!
ReplyDeleteLove, Joy
Yesterfood
Always good to see you Joy.
DeleteI love that picture of you! You haven't changed!! Thanks for the party and for featuring my tart! Have a great weekend/
ReplyDeleteThanks, but I hope my hair has improved.
DeleteNow I am craving shrimp! That looks delicious. Thanks so much for the party. Have a wonderful weekend :)
ReplyDeleteI'm always craving shrimp. I guess that is why I keep a bag in my freezer. Shrimp is so great to throw into so many recipes.
DeleteDiane,
ReplyDeleteLove the photo from 1984. I don't think I have any photos from that year.
Thanks for hosting the party. Have a great weekend.
Annamaria
It is probably not the best year to keep photos from...LOL.
DeleteThat must have been some appetizer! I wonder if the sauce was Marie Rose Sauce? Jamie Oliver has a recipe for it--it's tasty! Great picture, by the way. Thank you for the party!
ReplyDeleteI will have to check out that sauce. Let me assure you Michelle anything that tasted a little good was a stand out at that time in London.
DeleteHi Diane,
ReplyDeleteThat is an adorable photo of you, looks like you have wonderful memories. The appetizer looks delicious! Hope you are having a great week and thanks for hosting!
Miz Helen
Thanks Miz Helen, all I remember was it took a long time to blow out my hair back in the 80's.
DeleteDiane, this prawn avocado recipe looks delicious! Definitely going to try it, but probably with shrimp like you did. :) Great party! Have an awesome weekend!
ReplyDeleteKrista @ joyfulhealthyeats
It really is a simple nice appetizer that can make any weekday meal a little more special. Thanks for coming by Krista.
DeleteYou have such a lovely smile! Yum..I love everything about this recipe! Thank you for hosting. Yay, it's Friday!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Min,
DeleteI was voted most "Charming Smile" in high school LOL. It feels good to be a person who likes to smile. Thanks for coming to the party.
OMG, that is such a British food cliche! Prawn cocktail in avocado! Yeah, I like a good prawn cocktail but no-one in the UK is meant to admit this nowadays, we've moved on dahling!
ReplyDeleteI was in London 3 years ago and the food was amazing. But the you gottta love a good old retro recipe.
DeleteThank you for the party Diane!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE avocado, but we're forbidden from eating shrimp so this dish is not for us....
Have a wonderful weekend :)
I completely understand. I would think any white fish would taste lovely in an avocado. Thanks for coming by Winnie always good to see you.
DeleteI lived in England in 1995 and still crave so many of the foods I ate over there that you can't find here. Thankfully, I have a hubby who tries his best at replicating them, but we still can't master Yorkshire pudding. We think it might have something to do with the water here in FL.
ReplyDeleteThis shrimp dish looks so simple and tasty! Such a nice presentation too!
Hi there! I live in England and I have a Yorkshire pudding recipe that always works for me, but it uses milk, not water. I don't know if using milk in yours might make a difference? Hope this helps :)
DeleteI moved to London in 1989 and I totally agree, London was not a place for foodies back then! It is amazing how it has evolved over the last twenty some years - the food here is incredible now - and it was dishes like this one that got things rolling :) Avocado Prawn is still served in restaurants here, although not as much. Your version sounds delicious, and it looks gorgeous, Diane. The larger shrimp make it extra special. By the way, it is amazing how much 'Marie Rose' sauce tastes like Thousand Island Dressing. I've tried making scratch versions and honestly, the dressing like you have used tastes better :) This week I've shared Moroccan Shrimp and Couscous. Thank you for hosting :)
ReplyDeleteHow fun to hear that it is still around... I guess I was a budding foodie back then. Someone else mentioned Marie Rose sauce, great to hear that my taste buds are right on with the flavor and so simple to use thousand island dressing. Thanks for your insight April and your advice to Leslie on the yorkshire pudding.
DeleteThanks so much for hosting! My husband would LOVE that shrimp appetizer.
ReplyDelete~Stacy @ Stacy Makes Cents
I hope you get a chance to make it. I always keep a frozen bag of shrimp in the freezer which is great for using in all kinds of dishes.
DeleteWhat a great picture of you in London. You are right. London's food scene has definitely changes for the better. Your appetizer of shrimp and avocados is so healthy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting and I hope you have a lovely weekend.
Sam
It seems we are all in agreement about London. I was there 3 years ago and I had so many great dinners. It is such a vibrate place now. Thanks so much for coming to the party Sam.
DeleteI just don't know where to start! You really look good in that photo! Great dress! I think I had a couple in that style! I love this dish and I love your dishes! The blue and white catches my eye!
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great party! So glad to be here!
Thanks Cynthia you are too kind, but I agree I kinda still like that dress, but the hair was too much work. So glad you came by the party.
DeleteThanks for hosting, Diane! Have a fabulous weekend!
ReplyDeleteGlad you could make the party Julie, always good to see you here.
DeleteThanks for hosting Diane and hope you have a wonderful weekend! Cute that you shared your picture!
ReplyDeleteI was either brave or foolish to share that old photo.. but hey, you got to learn to laugh at yourself. Thanks for coming to the party Deb always good to see you.
DeleteThanks so much Diane!
ReplyDeleteYou are so welcome... I plan on making your salad this coming week.
DeleteThanks for the great party, Diane! The shrimp appetizer looks so delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lyuda,
DeleteI always enjoy your recipes too.
Hi Diane! Thanks for hosting us! Soooo I've got a ton of avocados that are all ripening at the same time *panic* so I'm excited to try your recipe! It looks light and fresh and quick to make. Score! :)
ReplyDeleteToday I shared Lemon Pound Cake Pudding. It helps control appetite and stimulate weight loss as well as reduce the craving for chips, fries, and other greasy foods (which I'm a sucker for!). It's a cool and slimming snack on a hot summer day.
I love when there is serendipity between recipes and food on hand. Wow, your pudding cake sounds pretty amazing. I will be sure to check it out. Thanks for coming by.
DeleteHappy Friday Diane and many thanks for hosting another terrific link party! :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, I would guess you might like this recipe. Shrimp is pretty low in calories, avocados not so much, but oh so healthy.
DeleteTwo of my favorite things, shrimp and avocado! I love your photo too :)
ReplyDeleteAnd oh how good they go together.
DeleteDiane, thanks so much for featuring my ice cream. And might I say, I do rather like that stylish picture!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome Sherry. Your ice cream is much more stylish than my 1980's photo LOL.
DeleteI'm not really a big avocado fan, but I think I'd enjoy this with the shrimp.
ReplyDeleteI love the simplicity of this shrimp and avocado appetizer...looks pretty and the flavor combination sounds great. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, exactly what I live about it too.
DeleteWhat a great idea! I love the simple blend of flavors!
ReplyDeleteThanks very much, even my kids enjoyed it.
DeleteDiane,
ReplyDeleteThis is a fabulous appetizer! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week.
Miz Helen
Sous Chef would love this! Two of his favorite foods in one dish!
ReplyDeleteMe too. So simple to make.
Delete