These elegant, rich little shellfish pots are easy to make ahead – serve with a glass of festive fizz. I adore potted shrimp. Not only do these little ramekins, with their jolly red sprinkle of cayenne pepper atop a golden cap of clarified butter, feel like fishy emissaries from a more elegant age, but they can also be prepared days in advance, which frees me up to drink fizz with friends instead of faffing around in the kitchen. A Christmas gift indeed.
![[Felicity Cloake]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/uploads/2018/01/29/Felicity_Cloake,_L.png?width=75&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
Prep 5 min. Cook 15 min. Serves 4. 200g unsalted butter. Juice of ¼ lemon. ¼ tsp ground mace. ¼ tsp ground white pepper. ½ tsp anchovy paste/Gentleman’s Relish. 200g cooked and peeled brown shrimps. Cayenne pepper, to serve (optional). Fresh dill, to serve (optional).
![[Felicity Cloake’s potted shrimp 023]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2dc4948c8754c417dbc13d21f7241b9b86af44b2/91_419_5025_6278/master/5025.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
4 slices thin white bread, to serve (optional). Cooked and peeled brown shrimp (whiskery beasts about 5cm long) are available in many supermarkets, fishmongers and online, but small peeled prawns will also work fine here, too. If you’re eating this dish within a couple of days, there’s no real need to clarify the butter (though it does give the end result a pleasingly silky texture), so you can skip steps 3 to 5, if you prefer.
![[Felicity Cloake’s potted shrimp.Melt the butter.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/5e7df596a9b94ddac8e28dd8a737bdfa5ecb0982/49_1621_5072_5069/master/5072.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
I’ve stuck to traditional flavourings here: anchovy paste can be easily tracked down in larger supermarkets, delis and online, but if need be, you could substitute some finely mashed anchovies in oil, or indeed leave them out altogether and salt more generously. Nutmeg is a good replacement for mace, and black pepper for white. See step 9 for other suggestions.
![[05a Felicity Cloake’s potted shrimp. Strain the butter.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/97600474afe01fac5d30db36077555f212f3e270/190_1472_4907_4905/master/4907.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
