Hot? Then try this Swedish prawn salad with my refreshing dill dressing.

For Swedes and our Scandinavian and Nordic neighbours, dill is much more than a decorative element. It is integral to many of our classic recipes and part of our cultural heritage.

Equally loved are prawns and we like to pile them high until they form a small mountain. In London, where I am based, prawns are too expensive for that. Instead, avocados, eggs and cucumber add substance to this cool but fulfilling salad.

If you ever visit the West coast of Sweden or Norway, make sure to profit from an abundance of prawns. They are usually sold with their skin on as the taste is superior to supermarket peeled prawns.

I would recommend you use either shell-on-prawns or tiger prawns for this recipe. If you can find neither, my lemon and chilli marinade will give bland prawns an added zing.

Serves: 4    Total time: 30 min

INGREDIENTS
600 g shell-on-prawns or 300 g tiger prawns. This is a minimum, please use more if you like
A mix of lettuce such as oak leaf, Lollo Rosso, Lollo Biondi, Escarole
1 cucumber
2 avocados
1 red onion, very thinly sliced
½ lemon
2-4 hard boiled eggs depending on how hungry you are
Dill for decoration

CREAMY DILL DRESSING
100 ml sour cream
100 ml mayonnaise
3 tbsp dill, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt and white pepper

PRAWN MARINADE
1 lemon
Hot chilli powder

METHOD

1. If using shell-on-prawns, peel and save the shells as the base for a delicious seafood stock. Marinate the prawns in the lemon and chilli while making the other ingredients. If you have time, marinate the prawns in advance for added flavour.

2. Halve or quarter the boiled eggs.

3. Cut the cucumber in two halves along its length. Scoop out the wet centre and seeds with a teaspoon. Slice the cucumber halves into thinnish half-moon shaped pieces. This will make them deliciously crunchy.

4. Mix all the ingredients for the dill dressing. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Slice the avocados.

6. Separate the lettuce leaves by hand. Rinse, and spin dry in a salad spinner. Alternatively, shake off the rinsing water and tap the leaves dry with a clean kitchen towel.

7. Arrange the lettuce on the plates, followed by the avocado, cucumber, red onion, egg and prawns.

8. Spoon over the dill mayonnaise generously, decorate the salad with dill and serve immediately with a lemon wedge on the side.

Bohuslän archipelago stretching from Gothenburg to Norway along the West coast of Sweden.

This is one of my favourite places to visit. The striking, landscape of rocky islands is set against picturesque colourful timber houses, which are traditionally clustered to protect from the wind.