serves: 4

Prep: 35 mins

ingredients

• • 150g YVC Persian Fetta – drain oil and reserve for cooking
  • 500g prawn tails – uncooked
  • 2 small fennel bulbs (or 1 large)
  • 4 cloves garlic – minced
  • 1 tsp fennel powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 150ml Ouzo or Pernod
  • 2 x 400g tins of crushed tomatoes
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • Salt flakes and cracked black pepper

Garnish

• • 50g salted butter
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tsp Aleppo pepper or chilli flakes
  • Fennel fronds
    

method

• Heat oven to 200 degrees.
• Remove core and fingers from fennel, reserving fronds for garnish, then finely slice remainder. In a large, deep frypan, add the reserved oil and gently sauté the sliced fennel, adding the garlic once it starts to soften. Cook for a further 5 minutes or so.
• Stir in the tomato paste and add Ouzo/Pernod. Bubble gently for 2-3 mins.
• Add the tomatoes, lemon zest, sugar, salt and pepper.
• Simmer for about 15 minutes or until the sauce starts to thicken. Add a little water if needed.
• Place the sauce into a baking dish and press the prawn tails gently into the mixture, leaving the tails poking out a little.
• Gently crumble the Persian Fetta over the mixture and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
• Whilst prawns are in the oven, melt the butter over a low heat in a small saucepan, adding the lemon juice and chilli flakes. Cook slowly until the mixture starts bubbling 2-3 mins.
• Remove cooked prawn dish from oven and drizzle over butter mixture. Garnish with fennel fronds. Serve with crusty bread.