Being aware of how many Ottolenghi fans are out there, I’ll be surprised if there aren’t at least a few of you who have tried this dish already! It’s a delicious, saucy dish that feels suited to any and all of the seasons, packed full of seafood… and flavour!
In a comforting kind of way, it reminds me very much of a Greek dish that my Mum often makes, called ‘Gharithes Me Feta’ (translates to ‘Prawns with Feta’). She’s been cooking it for years… I think perhaps it was a recipe passed on to her from our Greek neighbours who were (and still are…) fishmongers in Adelaide. Now I realise that Mr Ottolenghi has upped the ante somewhat with the addition of scallops, clams and fragrant strips of lemon zest, but somehow I know that deep down I’m going to be just as likely to think of my Mum whenever I make this in future. The flavours seem so attached to her… and to her kitchen.
I made the decision to use Persian feta when I cooked this for the family the other night and despite it’s decadent creaminess, I felt that it melted a little too much into the dish and that a slightly more robust feta would be a better choice in future.
It’s such a wonderful dish… I hope you give it a go.
Ottolenghi's 'Prawns, Scallops & Clams with Tomato & Feta' | Gather and Graze
- 250ml White Wine
- 1 kg Clams (cleaned) – I only used 500g
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 3 Garlic Cloves (thinly sliced)
- 600g (Fresh or Tinned) Ripe Tomatoes (Peeled and Chopped)
- 1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Fresh Oregano (Chopped)
- 1 Lemon
- 16 Raw Tiger Prawns (Peeled and Deveined)
- 12 Large Scallops (Cleaned)
- 120g Feta Cheese (Broken into 2cm chunks)
- 3 Spring Onions (thinly sliced)
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper
Bring the white wine to the boil in a medium saucepan and reduce until only a quarter of the quantity is left.
Add the clams to the saucepan and cover with a lid. Allow to cook over high heat for about 2 minutes (shaking the pan occasionally). Check that the clams have opened, before transferring to a fine sieve to drain, being sure to retain all of the cooking liquid (in a bowl or jug) for later.
Remove the clams from their shells, though you may wish to leave a few with shells on for presentation at the end.
Preheat the oven to 240°C.
Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the garlic in the olive oil until just golden. Add the tomatoes, clam liquid, sugar, chopped oregano and a grinding of pepper and salt. Using a vegetable peeler, peel off three strips of lemon and add them to the sauce. Allow to simmer gently for about 20-25 minutes until the sauce thickens nicely. Taste for seasoning and be sure to discard the lemon peel.
Add the prawns and scallops and stir gently to coat them in the sauce. Allow to cook for just a couple of minutes. Fold in the clams and transfer everything to an ovenproof dish. Scatter with the feta cheese and spring onions (and any of the cooked clams in their shells) and place into the oven for about 5 minutes, until the top of the dish colours a little and the seafood is cooked.
Remove from the oven, squeeze some lemon juice over the top and drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
Perfect served with couscous, rice or bread.
Notes on Cooking
- If you like a little heat, feel free to add some chilli flakes to the sauce at the same time as you add the tomatoes.
* Recipe from the cookbook ‘Jerusalem’ by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi
I love this recipe Margot!!! You are entirely right, Ottolenghi has a firm place in both my heart and kitchen (and many other people’s) and it’s always exciting to see other Jerusalem fans’ interpretations of the same recipes! Yours looks gorgeous. Hope you’re well my lovely friend, sorry for the absence – I still have no computer so I am reading this on my phone, sigh. Driving me mad! Xx
Thanks very much Laura… isn’t it such a beautiful dish! As are pretty much all of the Ottolenghi recipes! 🙂 Hope you’re well too and that the computer gets back up and running for you soon! We have a long weekend here… so, off to ride around the lake with my boys! 🙂
I’ve made this minus the feta, mainly becuase I didn’t have any but also because I was a bit wary about how the combination would work…but you’ve convinced me! Not sure why I didn’t trust Mr O as everything I’ve made from any of his book has been outstanding 🙂
Seafood and cheese isn’t something I’d normally consider putting together in the one dish, but it really does work here, with the tomatoes helping to provide that necessary link between the two. I think the slight tang and saltiness from the feta probably makes it one of the few cheeses suitable for adding to seafood. We had it with couscous, but next time some good chunks of crusty bread will be the go… perfect for mopping up the sauce.
Always wanted to make this recipe – have been curious about the fish/feta combo! When I find some good seafood I’m doing it, officially inspired!
The seafood/tomato/oregano/feta combo really does work – I really do hope that you give it a try sometime! 🙂
Wow, its a good thing I’ve just had breakfast, or this dish would make my stomach rumble! Beautiful, Margot!
Thanks so very much Naina! 🙂
Is it tom season for you guys? It’s getting late and I’ve given up thinking for the day.
Got to admit, I do miss seafood. I just can’t get truly fresh seafood here. And even if I could I probably wouldn’t know what to do with it! Well, now I know.
Yes, we’ve been buying some beautiful toms at the markets lately, as the 2 plants that we’ve been nurturing since the spring have done such a pathetic job of providing for us! So much so that they got ripped from their pots the other day in a moment of sheer frustration. 😉
Gosh, I would have thought that being coastal in the UK would mean a fabulous supply of fresh fish and seafood… what a shame! We’re inland by about a 90 minute drive, but a few suppliers come across from the coast each week to the farmer’s market and there’s also a number of other quite good fishmongers about for mid-week purchases.
You could actually leave out the clams if need be and just add some fish stock to the sauce (in place of the clam juices). I contemplated doing that, but really wanted to try the recipe out exactly as intended (at least for the first time anyway…) Mussels would also be a lovely choice.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 🙂
Such a cozy, warm meal. Love it!
Thanks so very much! I hope you find the time to give it a try.
Cheers,
Margot
Wow, this dish sure sounds fabulous, Margot! Seafood with feta sounds good to me. Yum!
Thanks Fae – it really is a beautiful dish! 🙂
Havent tried it yet but i think i damn well should! 😁
Totally agree! 🙂
Yep, this is going to be our Sunday night dinner. Thanks for sharing!
So happy to hear that – thanks very much Cecily!
So wonderful Margot, I love Ottolenghi and this dish. I have Jerusalem and saw this but have not made it yet. You have inspired me to do so. It’s fantastic and your photo’s make it even more inspiring.
Oh, I really hope you do Suzanne – it’s wonderful! Thanks so much for your comment, I was so keen to tuck in and not let my dinner get cold, that I didn’t take a great many photos of this one.
oh wonderful – I love this simple but the flavours must be amazing Margot – I own a number of ottolenghi cookbooks, interestingly my sister who unlike me doesn’t collect cookbooks, discovered them for me and since she gave me my first one Jersualem I am hooked 🙂 – if I can find clams and scallops that won’t cost me the price of a small car (entirely possible in Switzerland as we import all seafood) I will make this soon – thanks for posting Margot – which book is it in I havent spotted it in any of mine!
Hi Poli! It’s in Jerusalem (within the chapter on fish) and such a lovely dish, if you can get your hands on the seafood. All food/cooking should be flavour-driven, but the recipes found in the Ottolenghi books seem to guarantee that the dishes you prepare will be packed full of it! There are still so many of their recipes that I’m desperate to try. Hope you get a chance to make this sometime soon. 🙂
Hi Margot – well then I will “trawl” through Jersualem and find it – seafood loving other is coming home from a long trip and would likely be very happy to be welcomed by this! I agree Ottolenghi all the dishes are great, if you havent made Megadahra yet – try it so simple but so good, there was also one with a tomato and vinegar sauce with green lentils and rice but although I remember the recipe vividly I cannot find it in the books 😦 – the one thing I tried that I didnt care for was pumpkin with pomegranate molasses..other than that it’s all amazing
I actually read through that very same recipe today – I think it was all the delicious, crispy onion on top that drew me in! I’ve never been that fond of lentils, so I’m pleased to hear that it’s well worth a try!
There’s a dish called ‘Kosheri’ in ‘Ottolenghi, The Cookbook’ (Pg 85) which might be the one you’re thinking of? Hope you can revisit it again soon! 🙂
the lentils in the recipe are very very good – and because I think they are green they add an earthiness but are not as overwhelming as the brown ones I also love the little black puy lentils – also called caviar lentils I think, they are SO pretty 🙂 – thanks for the recipe suggestion I will go look I spent ages leafing through to no avail!
No worries Poli – I hope you find it! 🙂
beautiful nights dinnerxx
I think you guys would love this one aj! M.xx
what are you doing Margot posting this so late on a Friday xxxaj
Hi dear aj! What are you doing reading this so late on a Friday??? 😉 Off to sleep now… M.xx