Prawn Saganaki Recipe

This prawn saganaki recipe is the ultimate Mediterranean indulgence. It’s made with delicately sweet prawns, embraced by a fragrant and rich tomato sauce and topped with feta cheese. Every mouthful will be a sweet remembrance of Greece and its unique flavours. 

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If you are a seafood lover and never had prawn saganaki before, then you are in for a real treat. The salty, melted feta cheese is gloriously combined with the fresh and lightly sweet shrimps, cooked in a fragrant tomato sauce. It’s truly divine! This is an invitation for good food, made effortlessly from the comfort of your home. It can be served as a shared appetiser or a complete meal alongside rice.

WHAT IS PRAWN SAGANAKI?

The word “saganaki” refers to the type of pan used, which is a flat small frying pan with squat handles on both sides, however, a skillet or a non-stick pan will work just fine. Prawn saganaki is a classic dish from Greece, made with prawns (shrimps), tomato sauce and feta cheese. 

WHAT GOES INTO THIS PRAWN SAGANAKI RECIPE

This is one of those recipes that don’t require a lot of work or preparation. I would encourage you to start however with the mise en place (gather all the ingredients before you start cooking). 

MAIN INGREDIENTS:

• Prawns: If you are using fresh prawns (which is preferred) then remove the shell from the body, deveine, but the head should remain intact. The prawn’s head contains a lot of flavour and it would be a shame for it to go to waste.

• Feta Cheese: Use your hands to crumble and scatter over the prawn and tomato sauce, before cooking in the oven. The feta cheese will melt slightly and release its salty flavour. 

• Garlic: Use a garlic press to crush the garlic or grate it.

• Onion: Finely dice the onion and set aside until ready to use.

• Oregano: Oregano is a spice that can be found in many Greek dishes. I find that it provides a nice aroma to this sauce and it pairs beautifully with the prawns and feta cheese.

• Canned Chopped Tomatoes: You can use canned chopped tomatoes or plum tomatoes. I prefer to blitz them in a blender before making the sauce because the sauce will be smoother. You can however opt for chunkier sauce and skip this step. If you are using whole canned plum tomatoes, you can use a fork to break down the tomatoes to release their juices. 

• Tomato Concentrate: This is used to enhance and provide a depth of flavour. If you don’t have tomato concentrate available just continue following the recipe. The dish will still taste delicious.

• Butter: A small amount of butter will suffice to create an extra layer that completes the dish. 

• Sugar: 1 tablespoon of sugar is used to mix in with the canned tomatoes. The sugar will balance the acidity of the tomatoes.

• Salt

• Pepper

• Olive Oil

• Chopped Basil & Parsley

OPTIONAL INGREDIENTS:

• Anchovy Fillets: Anchovies are a source of umami (the essence of deliciousness) and in this recipe, they contribute to flavour the tomato sauce. If you don’t like anchovies you can skip this ingredient.

• Chilli Flakes: These are optional, however, I prefer the addition of a little bit of heat that the chilli flake provides. If instead, you enjoy spicier food, you can increase the amount.

• Lemon Zest (optional): This is to be scattered over the dish just before serving. I personally like the zing and freshness that it adds to the dish.

Prawn Saganaki Recipe

Yield: 2 Servings as an Appetiser

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

This prawn saganaki recipe is the ultimate Mediterranean indulgence.

It's made with delicately sweet prawns, embraced by a fragrant and rich tomato sauce and topped with feta cheese.

Every mouthful will be a sweet remembrance of Greece and its unique flavours. 

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Ingredients

• 6 giant prawns, shell form body removed, deveined but head intact
• 80 g feta cheese
• 1 medium (white) onion, finely diced
• 3 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
• 2 small garlic cloves, crushed using a garlic press
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 chilli flakes
• 1 tablespoon tomato concentrate
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 400 g canned chopped tomatoes, blitzed until smooth using a blender
• 40 g unsalted butter
• a handful of mixed parsley and basil
• salt
• pepper
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil, plus extra to drizzle on top
• lemon zest from 1 lemon (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.
2. Heat up a pan over medium-high heat until hot. Season the shrimp lightly with salt and pepper, then add to the hot pan and cook for 30 seconds on each side. When ready, transfer to a plate and set aside until needed.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, and add the onion. Sweat for 2 minutes. Add the crushed garlic, chopped anchovy fillets, dried oregano, chilli flakes and tomato concentrate. Stir to combine. Mix the granulated sugar with the canned tomatoes, and add to the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking for another 3 - 4 minutes. You should obtain a thicker sauce as the tomatoes reduce.
4. Transfer the sauce into two individual oven-proof dishes. Crumble the feta cheese equally between both. Add the butter, cut into small cubes and distribute evenly. Then add the chopped parsley and basil, place the shrimps and drizzle with some extra-virgin olive oil.
5. Cook in the oven for 15 - 18 minutes, until the feta cheese, starts melting and the top of the shrimps is lightly brown.
6. When ready, remove from the oven, scatter the lemon zest on top and serve immediately.

Notes

What pan should you use to make prawn saganaki?

A skillet or a non-stick pan will work fine with this recipe. Just make sure that the pan that you are using is oven-proof. I personally opted for the individual oven-proof dishes only for appearance and serving purposes.

What to serve with prawn saganaki?

You can serve this dish alongside rice for a complete meal. Alternatively, if served as an appetiser, I would suggest serving it with a baguette or sourdough bread to dip into that delicious sauce!