Summer is fast upon us. Whilst everything is still in bloom here in Athens, you can already feel the breeze getting warmer. I haven’t dared a dive in the sea just yet, I’m bringing the seaside to my plate instead. I’m sharing my favourite Greek seafood recipe: prawns saganaki.

Head straight to the recipe.

I photographed this recipe for Odysea, a few weeks back. We have been collecting great Greek recipes for their website over the past year. You can find many more here. It’s a collaboration I truly celebrate. I love talking about food, so much is true, but working with people that love food as much as you and want to share the story behind it, it’s priceless.

We rarely talk about their products, excellent in their own merit, we prefer to fuss over Greek cuisine. Amongst the vast array of Greek recipes, we try to single out the very best. Recipes that are quick to make, healthy and delicious to share on the table with your loved ones. Talking about the best, how could prawns saganaki be missing? Doesn’t it make you think of the small seaside tavern, a table nested under the salt cedars and your feet touching the sand? If there is just one summer dish to single out, prawns saganaki is definitely the winner.

If you haven’t come across the term saganaki before, don’t fret. Saganaki is actually a small frying pan; the silverish dish you can see in the pictures. Cooking wise, saganaki is the Greek stir-fry, you simply throw in the pan a few ingredients and food is done in a jiffy. In our case it’s a quick tomato sauce, greatly enhanced by oregano, ouzo, star anise and of course feta cheese. However, you shouldn’t confuse it with the pan-seared cheese – this is also called saganaki, an excellent appetizer, but it has nothing to do with prawns saganaki. So lets go make some prawns.

Print Recipe

Prawns Saganaki

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: 4

Ingredients

8-10 large prawns
4 ripe tomatoes chopped
1 red onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp of smoked paprika
1 tspn of tomato paste
One shot of ouzo
2 star anise
A pinch of sugar
A few sprigs of basil finely chopped
A bit of Oregano
200 gr feta cheese
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Start by peeling and cleaning your shrimps. Remove the shell if you wish by keep the head and tails. You can use ready peeled prawns as well.
Rub a bit of salt and pepper on the prawns and get your frying pan ready.
Heat the olive oil in medium heat, place the prawns in for 1-2 minutes each side. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same frying pan, add a bit of olive oil and bring in the onion and garlic. Once the onion has softened and become translucent, add the tomato paste, paprika and star anise.
Follow with the shot of ouzo, allow alcohol to cook off.
Continue with the peeled and grated tomatoes, add a bit of salt, a pinch of sugar. Allow to boil and simmer on a medium heat for about 8-10 minutes until most of the liquids have evaporated.
Add in the feta, basil and oregano and allow the sauce to set.
Bring in the prawns for the last couple of minutes in the sauce and you are ready to serve.

I hope you remember to grab a huge loaf of bread and bring to the table. This tomato and feta cheese sauce is made for mopping!

From Athens with love,

Eugenia

PS This is not a sponsored post, I just love celebrating my collaborations. If you are in the UK, Odysea is the place to shop Greek and Mediterranean food products, check them out!