Saganaki Shrimps
In Greek cuisine, saganaki is any one of a variety of dishes prepared in a small frying pan, the best-known being an appetizer of fried cheese. The dishes are named for the frying pan in which they are prepared, called a saganaki, which is a diminutive of sagani, a frying pan with two handles, which comes from the Turkish word sahan 'copper dish', itself borrowed from Arabic (ṣaḥn).The cheese used in saganaki is usually graviera, kefalograviera, halloumi, kasseri, kefalotyri, or sheep's milk feta cheese. Regional variations include the use of formaela cheese in Arachova, halloumi in Cyprus, and vlahotiri in Metsovo. The cheese is melted in a small frying pan until it is bubbling and generally served with lemon juice and pepper. It is eaten with bread. Other dishes cooked in a saganaki pan include shrimp saganaki and mussels saganaki, which are typically feta-based and include a spicy tomato sauce. Prawn Saganaki, or often called Shrimp Saganaki, is the second most common Saganaki dish. Fresh prawns are smothered in a chunky tomato sauce with Feta cheese crumbles.This Saganaki version is often served as an appetizer with baguette or as a main dish with pasta or rice. Read more about my favorite Prawn Saganaki recipe below.For the traditional Greek shrimp saganaki recipe, the shrimps are deglazed in ouzo drink which gives a unique taste, so try to find some for this extra flavour, or else substitute with dry white wine. For the sauce use some juicy, ripe fresh tomatoes. If your tomatoes are underripe it’s best to use some canned chopped tomatoes and balance the acidity with a pinch of sugar.The recipe is very simple, easy to make and incredibly tatsy. If you try it I’m sure you will add this recipe to your favourite food list. The preparation of this food is really simple, everything is cooked in one pan and you only need a few ingredients. Feta cheese is traditionally made from sheep's milk and has a rich and tangy flavour plus an incredible creamy and crumbly texture. You can serve the Greek shrimp Saganaki as an appetizer or with pasta, rice, orzo or toasted/fresh bread. I had some fresh bread with this meal and it was very tasty.
Ingredients
- 250 g shrimps
- 200 g Feta cheese
- 400 g canned tomatoes in sauce
- 1 onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- fresh parsley
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
Instructions
- In a pan heat the olive oil and cook the onion and garlic for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Add the tomatoe sauce, salt, dried oregano and basil and boil everything for 5-10 minutes on medium heat.
- Add the Feta cheese cut into cubes, the shrimps, cover the tray and let everything cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Add some fresh parsley at the end and enjoy your delicious meal!