Shrimp Saganaki

My first taste of shrimp saganaki was at Dana Villa, Santorini. That was two years ago. The weather was still chilly for mid-May. I came to Santorini alone, trying to find some “me” time before my friends join me there and was a bit tired from the day’s travel. I guess I can be excused for not feeling too adventurous that night. I opted to dine at the villa’s restaurant. It turned out to be a splendid choice.

Food is a unique lens through which you can understand better a country and its nation, so of course, when I travel, I like to taste the local food. That night was no different. So after scanning the menu, I ordered shrimp saganaki and some greek salad. Nicko, the chef, cooks great shrimp saganaki. I have since tried the same dish at a few other restaurants but Nicko’s is still the best. Nicko, I’m still waiting for your recipe!

Saganaki actually refers to the pan/pot in which the dish is prepared in. And although the dish is famously known as shrimp saganaki, prawns are often used – whichever one gets into the pan and onto the plate, who cares? I’ll eat them both. They are delicious!

Back in London, I tried to recreate the shrimp saganaki that I had at Dana Villa. Although mine may not taste as good as Nicko’s, every time I make one, it brings back memories of Santorini.

Let’s make some now!

You will need:

• 15 – 20 prawns, with heads and tails on if you can get your hands on those. I have the ones with only tails on in my freezer.
• 1 handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 glass grape juice + 1 tbsp lemon juice
• some feta cheese
• 1 handful fresh dill
• 3 tbsp oil
• salt/pepper/chilli flakes to taste

Heat the pan to medium heat and add the oil.

Season the prawns with some salt and sauté them for a few minutes.

Remove the prawns from pan and set aside.

Throw in the crushed garlic and chopped onions into the pan. Fry until the garlic turns slightly golden and the onions softens. Add the cherry tomatoes and leave to cook for a few minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes. I suspect the Greeks only use fresh tomatoes, but I only have a few cherry tomatoes in the fridge so tinned ones will just have to do. I like my dish with a bit of heat, so in goes the chilli flakes. Season with some salt and pepper.

At this point, the Greeks would add a glass of ouzo, an anise-flavoured aperitif. You can substitute with white wine or what I’ve done here is to use grape juice instead. If you’d rather, leave it out totally.

When the sauce has slightly reduced, crumble in most of the feta cheese and add most of the dill into the pan and stir to combine. Leave some of the feta cheese and dill for decorations later.

Add the prawns back into the pan and stir for a few seconds so that all are coated in the sauce.

Transfer to a large serving dish. It’s a good way for sharing. Crumble the balance of the feta cheese and scatter the remaining dills on top. Break the bread and enjoy.

If you ever go to Santorini, Dana Villa would be a great choice to stay at. And if you order shrimp saganaki, remember to leave the heads for the Dana cats!

Memories of Dana Villa…