Prawns in Spicy Tomato Sauce With Feta Cheese

Engrossed's Note:

I came across this recipe in the most serendipitous manner...on my way to work going 50mph I saw some trash blowing across the road...it got stuck to my car and I could hear it fluttering all the way to work. When I got out of my car I found a piece of newspaper stuck to my front grill. I took it off and what was it? A torn out page from a week old newspaper that has 4 yummy sounding recipes! Wow. I feel obligated to post them now.

• Total Time: 55 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 2 lbs prawns, shelled and deveined
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 4 tablespoons butter (my guess it didn't state how much)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (recipe says 1 cup!)
• 2 bunches green onions, finely chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1 celery, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 (16 ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 1 cup clam juice
• 1 large tomato, peeled and cored
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 lb feta cheese, crumbled
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F.
2. Pour lemon juice over cleaned shrimps in a bowl and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a skillet, saute green onions, garlic, celery, parsley and canned tomatoes until celery is tender. Reduce heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
4. Add clam broth, cook for another 5 minutes and remove from fire.
5. In another pan, saute shrimp in butter until they are pink (Leave them a little undercooked as they will continue to cook in the sauce).
6. Pour the tomato sauce mixture into the bottom of a casserole dish; place the whole peeled and cored tomato in the center, surround it with shrimp; sprinkle entire casserole with oregano. Pour the white wine around the shrimp and sprinkle feta cheese over the shrimp and tomato center. Bake for 15 minutes or until feta melts.

Reviews

[CulinaryQueen]

123 Hit Wonders 2007 ~ Loved the flavor in this. I cut the recipe down as there's just the two of us. Did some minor changes. As I don't have access to clam juice here, I made a fresh fish stock using a salmon head and tail I had in the freezer. I cooked the onions, garlic and celery for a few minutes before adding the (diced, not whole) tomatoes. I left out the whole tomato at the end. I would suggest not leaving the prawns in the lemon juice too long as the citrus will start to 'cook' them. I also added the lemon zest for more zing and like another reviewer, we like a bit of heat in our food also, so added some dried chili flakes to make it appropriate with the title. 15 minutes is too long for the prawns to cook as they became tough and rubbery. Next time I would saute them for 3-4 minutes and stir them into the mix just prior to serving. I served this with boiled potatoes. Enjoyed the story of how you came across this recipe. Thanks Engrossed!

[~Nimz~]

We loved this recipe and the sauce was outstanding. First time using clam juice and I was very nervous about it. Added such a wonderful flavor. I baked it for the recommended 15 minutes but the feta didn't melt so baked it another 5 minutes and removed from oven. I would have liked it to melt a little more but was afraid I would overcook the shrimp. May decrease the feta cheese some next time. We served this over rice with Caesar Salad With Onion Bagel Croutons Thanks Engrossed for sharing.

[Kim127]

This recipe gem got 5 stars from me and DH and he is a much harsher critic. Really enjoyed this and served it with bow tie pasta. There are only 2 of us, so I halved the recipe and so I used a smaller can of diced tomatoes instead of the whole tomatoes. Also I would maybe cook the celery a little by itself before adding the rest of the ingredients. Also added 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper and would think about adding a little more next time. But we like a little heat to our food. I also omitted the large tomato used for oven stage. What a find this was! I think it would be great with rice also! Keeper :)!!!