Prawn saganaki recipe
Prawn or shrimp saganaki is one of those rustic Greek dishes that’s brilliant in its simplicity, created to showcase the high quality-ingredients of the Mediterranean.
The prawns are cooked in a sizzling dish in the oven with creamy, salty feta and fresh mint leaves and finished with ripe, juicy tomatoes that, with the shellfish juices and a generous glug of olive oil, create a wonderfully tangy-sweet sauce. It’s a classic bar dish that’s usually served with a short glass of ouzo or tsipouro and, ideally, sunshine and coastal views.
This recipe belongs to yiayia Toula, one of the many Greek grannies Anastasia Miari visited when writing her cookbook Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers. The book pays homage to the dishes cooked by Greek matriarchs, while also showcasing the country’s rich and varied culinary landscape.
“The rich tomato sauce, suffused with the flavour of prawns, is one you’ll want to mop up with a load of crusty bread,” recommends Anastasia.
Even without access to the quality produce of the Greek islands, and even on less than sunny days, a bowl of this saganaki will at least transport your taste buds there.
For US ingredients and measurements, use the drop-down menu and select ‘Cups’.
Ingredients
- 1 kg whole shell-on jumbo king prawns
- 350 g feta, cut into 1 cm thick slices
- 15 g mint, leaves picked and roughly torn
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 4 tomatoes, sliced
- 100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 1 loaf crusty bread to serve
- 2.2 lbs whole shell-on jumbo king prawns
- 12.3 oz feta, cut into 1 cm thick slices
- 0.5 oz mint, leaves picked and roughly torn
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 4 tomatoes, sliced
- 3.5 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
- 1 loaf crusty bread to serve
- 2.2 lbs whole shell-on jumbo king shrimp
- 12.3 oz feta, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
- 0.5 oz mint, leaves picked and roughly torn
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 4 tomatoes, sliced
- 0.4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 loaf crusty bread to serve
Details
- Cuisine: Greek
- Recipe Type: Seafood
- Difficulty: Easy
- Preparation Time: 20 mins
- Cooking Time: 40 mins
- Serves: 4
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/392°F/gas mark 6.
- Gently peel the legs and shell from the prawns (shrimp), leaving the tail and head intact as they have lots of flavour.
- De-vein the prawns (shrimp) by gently running a knife along the length and pulling out the dark ‘string’. No need to go too deep for this; it’s just under the surface.
- Layer the prawns (shrimp) in a deep baking dish. Follow this with a layer of sliced feta (don’t worry if the slices break up), then the mint leaves. Add the black pepper.
- Finally, add the sliced tomatoes, completely covering the mint leaves below so they don’t burn in the oven. Tuck the mint leaves behind the tomatoes if they are sticking out.
- Drizzle over the olive oil and bake in the oven for 40 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down and become a bit saucy. If you don’t have super-ripe Mediterranean tomatoes, they may sit on top more, but don’t worry; it will still be delicious.
- Serve hot with crusty bread for dipping.
Recipe adapted from Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers By Anastasia Miari (£27, Hardie Grant). Photography by Marco Arguello.
Yiayia: Time-perfected Recipes from Greece’s Grandmothers By Anastasia Miari
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