Garides Saganaki (Prawns baked in feta & tomato sauce)

13 August 2024
|In Recipes, Recipe of the month
|By Lucy Cufflin

From Cypriana by Theo Michaels, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£22). Photography by Mowie Kay © Ryland Peters & Small.

Saganaki can take various forms, but all are ultimately cooked in a ‘saganaki’, a two-handled skillet, be it feta, mussels, Kefalotyri cheese or, in this case, prawns. I like my prawn saganaki to be tactile and messy, peeling away shells, licking fingers, dipping bread in the sauce and leaving wine glasses smeared with fingerprints like a crime scene. Keep this informal – it’s more fun.

  • 600 g/1 lb. 5 oz. large king prawns/jumbo shrimp, shells on
  • 1/2 onion
  • 1 stick/stalk celery
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 60 ml/1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/2 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • a generous pinch of Greek dried oregano
  • a pinch of sugar
  • a generous pinch of dried chilli/hot red pepper flakes
  • a small handful of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • a small handful of freshly chopped dill
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tomato purée/paste
  • 250 ml/1 cup passata/strained tomatoes
  • 80 g/3 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • olive oil, for cooking and drizzling bread, to serve

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) Gas 4.

Season the prawns and sear them in a little olive oil in a pan set over a high heat until they turn pink, then remove them from the pan – you don’t need to cook them through, this just helps coax maximum flavour out of our little pink crustaceans.

Dice the onion and celery. Using the same pan, fry them in a little olive oil until the vegetables soften but don’t colour, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and warm through for just a minute before adding the white wine. Reduce the wine by half, then add the smoked paprika, oregano, sugar, half the chilli flakes, most of the parsley (saving a generous pinch), most of the dill (again save a pinch to garnish), the bay leaves, vinegar, tomato purée and passata.

Season generously with salt and pepper, add a splash of water and simmer on a low heat, so it is lightly bubbling, for about 10 minutes. Add a splash of cold water if it starts to dry out. Reintroduce the prawns to the sauce and pop into the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Once done, remove from the oven and, while still hot, sprinkle over the crumbled feta, remaining chopped parsley, dill and chilli flakes. Add an extra drizzle of olive oil and serve with plenty of bread to soak up the sauce.

Feta