I recently bought some king prawns because they looked so very fresh, with bright colour and long perky antennae. I took them home and looked in the fridge and pantry for something to go with them. I found tinned tomatoes and some feta. A memory of a tasty Greek meal from years ago flooded in and I had my dish. Baked prawns, tomatoes and feta. Not trendily innovative but a true classic and a delicious combination of seafood and cheese.
The recipe serves four but I’d recommend making extra sauce and freezing it for the next time you’re searching for something to make a quick meal. The quantities can easily be doubled for this recipe and served as part of a meal for a large gathering.
Caren
BAKED PRAWNS WITH TOMATO AND FETA
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 Spanish onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley leaves, roughly chopped
100 ml dry white wine
2 400gm tins of tomatoes
200 ml tomato passata
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon sugar or more to taste
20-24 king prawns, peeled and cleaned
2 lemons, zested and then halved
100 gm feta (or more to taste), crumbled
Extra virgin olive oil
Coriander and parsley leaves (optional)
Prepare the tomato sauce first.
Pour the olive oil into in a fry pan with a high side, add the onions and cook over a low heat until the onions are soft. Add the garlic, oregano and parsley and continue to cook for a few minutes. Add the wine and then the tomatoes and passata. Bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and add the salt and sugar.
Cover with a lid and simmer for at least 30 minutes, adding water if the mixture is drying too much.
The recipe can be made ahead to this point and the sauce kept in the fridge.
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Warm an ovenproof dish in the oven. Reheat the sauce if it has been refrigerated.
Pour the sauce into the dish. Top with the prepared prawns, pushing them into the sauce a bit, and scatter over the lemon zest and the feta.
Bake for 10 minutes being careful not to over cook the prawns.
Pour over some virgin olive oil and scatter over the coriander and parsley leaves if using.
Serve with the lemon halves and a salad of greens, cucumber and Kalamata olives.