I wish I could tell you the origin of Marie Rose sauce, but I haven’t found a convincing answer. It was popularised as a seafood cocktail sauce by British TV cook Fanny Cradock in the 1960s, though similar sauces existed before then. The ‘Marie Rose’ name is often linked to the crew catering for the divers working on the restoration of the British Tudor warship, Mary Rose, in the 1980s, though this is unsubstantiated. Throw into the mix the similar Thousand Island dressing, named for the Thousand Islands region of the St. Lawrence River between the USA and Canada, and it all gets just too confusing! Suffice to say it’s easy, delicious and a great way to dress up any seafood (including prawn cocktails)! I use tomato paste rather than tomato sauce in my Marie Rose sauce as it’s thicker with a purer flavour.
Makes about 2½ tablespoons
Share page on:
