Prawn Saganaki is my go-to meal when I have a serious case of the cooking blahs.  It’s as simple as you like, yet looks and tastes so impressive, it’s worthy of a dinner party audience!

If prawns aren’t your bag, you could substitute with chunks of firm, white fish, or even delicious scallops; you’re looking for something that cooks quickly in the sauce.  My sister questioned whether she could use chicken, due to allergies to seafood.  Yes, I think you could, although it would either need to be very finely sliced so it cooks evenly in the short cooking time, or, possibly the better option, would be to poach it first, then add it at the last minute; just before you top with fetta and pop under the grill.

This is a dish I make off the cuff, so please feel free to adjust any quantities to suit the size of your family, or your individual tastes. It’s really a throw together kind of meal.

Minimal effort.  Maximum result.  Sounds like a Wednesday night match made in heaven to me!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil
3 garlic cloves – peeled and minced (confession:  I’m hooked on my gigantic jar of minced garlic from a certain American bulk store……..I know.  I use a heaped teaspoon in this.)
1 400g tin diced tomatoes
Sea salt and black pepper
300g of uncooked prawns (I cut corners and buy them ready prepped, but if buying from the fish monger, then you’ll need to peel, de-vein etc.)
200g of good fetta cheese
Fresh parsley
Crusty bread

(by the way, that’s gluten free bread!  How amazing is it!)

Method:

1. Heat a large, heavy based saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add the oil, garlic, tomatoes, salt and pepper and stir.
3. Bring to a boil and then turn down the heat and allow to simmer for around 10-20 minutes.  You’re looking for the water in the tomatoes to reduce a little, leaving a thick sauce.
4. Meanwhile, chop your parsley and cut the fetta into lovely triangles (or you can just save yourself the bother and crumble it over when the time comes.)
5. Carefully add the prawns, arranged so they are all flat in the sauce.
6. Allow to cook through on one side. Resist the urge to stir!
7. Heat your grill to medium.
8. As the prawns begin to colour through, top with the fetta cheese and place the pan under the grill until the prawns are cooked through and the fetta is a lovely golden colour.
9. While this is happening, thickly slice some crusty bread and pop in the toaster.
10. Once the prawns and fetta are cooked, top with a generous sprinkling of parsley and serve straight from the pan.

There’s nothing better than plunging a thick lice of toast into that rich tomato and garlic sauce once all the prawns and cheese have been devoured!

Kali Orexi!