Raki tomato prawns with yoghurt flatbread

A boozy addition to saucy prawns is certainly worth embracing thanks to this Turkish-style prawn recipe.

Credit: China Squirrel

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Raki prawns

• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• ½ white onion, finely chopped
• ½ red onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• ¼ fennel bulb, finely chopped
• 100 ml raki (see Note)
• 1 tbsp vegetable stock or water
• 4 roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 400 g can diced tomatoes
• ½ cup oregano leaves, torn
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped, plus extra to serve
• 1 tsp paprika
• 200 g Danish feta, crumbled
• 1 tbsp thickened cream
• 750 g raw (green) small king prawns, peeled, tails left on
• 1 lemon, juiced
• lemon cheeks, to serve

Flatbread

• 375 g (2½ cups) self-raising flour
• 250 ml (1 cup) Greek yoghurt
• 60 ml (¼) cup olive oil, plus extra for cooking
• 2 sprigs rosemary, leaves picked
• 1 tsp salt 

Instructions

For the flatbread, mix the flour, yoghurt, oil, rosemary and salt in bowl. Knead for 3-5 minutes on a lightly floured workbench until the dough comes together and is soft.  Divide into 5 balls and use a rolling pin to roll each to 2 mm thick.

Heat a frying pan with a little oil, add the flatbread, in batches, and cook for 3 minutes each side until crisp. Keep warm.

For the raki prawns, heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and fennel and cook for 5 minutes or until softened.

Add the raki, then very carefully ignite and flambé until the raki has evaporated and the flames burn down.

Add the stock, both types of tomatoes, oregano, parsley, paprika, feta, cream and prawns, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with the lemon juice to taste. Garnish with parsley leaves and serve with the flatbread.

Cook’s notes

• Raki is an unsweetened alcohol popular in Greece and is often served as an aperitif. You will find it at good liquor supply stores.

Photography, styling and food preparation by China Squirrel. 

This recipe is from The Chefs' Line - a brand new series airing weeknights at 6pm on SBS. Can the passion of a home cook beat the skills of a professional chef? Missed all the action? Catch-up online and get all the recipes #TheChefsLine.

This recipe has been edited by SBS Food and may differ slightly from the series.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.