Crevettes With Feta and Tomato Sauce

Greek chef and restaurateur Theodore Kyriakou (widely considered to be the finest Greek chef in Britain) tells us that "As soon as the first warm sunshine comes after winter and the restaurants start to put tables outside, this is their star dish.... As with most prawn dishes, you should start with the largest, freshest prawns you can buy. Fresh prawns are glossy, they smell of the sea without a hint of ammonia and do not need rinsing." This recipe is from ‘real Greek food’, which Theodore Kyriakou co-authored with food writer Charles Campion. I am posting it for the 2005 Zaar World Tour. You may want to use Theodore Kyriakou's Tomato Sauce Theodore Kyriakou's Tomato Sauce, when making this recipe.

• Ready In: 25 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 750  ml tomato sauce
• 250  g Greek feta cheese, crumbled
• 50  ml olive oil
• 1  bunch spring onion
• 3  garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2  tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
• 16  mediterranean  crevettes or 16  tiger shrimp
• 70  ml  ouzo
• 30  ml extra virgin olive oil
•  fresh ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
2. Pour the tomato sauce into a large flat oven dish and pour the tomato sauce into it, scatter the feta on top and put it into the oven for 5 minutes until the feta begins to melt.
3. Heat 25 ml (just short of 1 tablespoon) of olive oil in a frying pan, add the spring onions, garlic and thyme; and gently sauté for 5 minutes or until the onions are soft, then stir them into the tomato sauce in the oven dish. Return the dish to the oven to keep warm.
4. Put the pan back on the heat, add the remaining olive oil and sear the crevettes (or prawns) for 2 or 3 minutes. Then flame the pan with the Ouzo.
5. When the flames have died down, add the crevettes and the pan juices to the oven dish full of tomato sauce. Season with black pepper and mix everything together and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes to allow the flavours to amalgamate.
6. Remove the dish from the oven, and pour the extra virgin olive oil over the top.
7. Allow the dish to cool a little before serving so that it can be eaten by hand with crisp bread.