# Garides Saganaki (Greek shrimp in tomato sauce) with smashed potatoes & toast

Prawns simmered in a garlic–onion–tomato sauce, finished with crumbled brine
cheese, served over smashed potatoes with toasted seeded bread to mop up the
sauce. Non-creamy and tomato-forward — deliberately different from yesterday's
creamy bacon pasta. Built to clear **both** thawing prawn packs, the
soon-expiring fresh tomatoes, and the potatoes in one meal.

> **Food safety:** the prawns were frozen and are now thawed near best-before.
> Cook them through (opaque and curled), eat the same day, and do **not**
> refreeze leftovers.

## Ingredients

**From inventory:**
- [ ] 🦐 ASC king prawns `ID:shrimp-asc-2026-06-07` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-06-10) ⚠️ thawed — use today
- [ ] 🦐 MSC prawns 270g `ID:shrimp-msc-270g-2026-06-07` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-06-10) ⚠️ thawed — use today
- [ ] ~400g fresh tomatoes, chopped `ID:tomatoes-vine` / `ID:tomatoes-loose` / `ID:tomatoes-cherry` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-06-13)
- [ ] 1 large onion, finely chopped `ID:onion-2026-05-24` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-06-23)
- [ ] 3–4 cloves garlic, sliced `ID:garlic-fresh-2026-06-07` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-07)
- [ ] ~150g white brine cheese, crumbled `ID:cheese-bjalo-2026-06-07` (pantry-fridge, bb:2026-11-01) — stands in for feta
- [ ] ~800g potatoes `category:potatoes` (food3, bb:2026-06-12) — 5 kg bag, use a handful
- [ ] 4–6 slices seeded bread `ID:bread-seeded` (pantry-drawer-bread, bb:2026-06-10) ⚠️ use up
- [ ] ½ lemon, for squeezing `ID:lemons` (pantry-behind-stove, bb:2026-06-27)
- [ ] Olive oil, generous `ID:oliveoil-costadoro` (pantry-spice-stove)
- [ ] Pinch ground chili `ID:chili-aladham` (F-13)
- [ ] Dried parsley `ID:parsley-dried-2026-05-16` (F-13) — to finish
- [ ] A knob of butter for the potatoes (pantry-fridge) ⚠️ expired ~7d — smell-check, or use olive oil
- [ ] (optional boost) 1–2 tbsp tomato paste `ID:Baresa ДОМАТЕНО ПЮРЕ` (food1) or a splash of passata `ID:passata-baresa` (food1) if the fresh tomatoes are watery

**Needs shopping (all optional):**
- [ ] 🛒 Fresh parsley (nicer than dried for the finish)
- [ ] 🛒 Dried oregano (classic saganaki note — none in stock)
- [ ] 🛒 Splash of ouzo or dry white wine (to deglaze — traditional, skippable)

**Preparation needed:**
- [ ] ❄️ Make sure prawns are fully thawed and patted dry before cooking
- [ ] Peel/devein prawns if not already (keep a few shells for the sauce if you like, for extra flavour — optional)

## Equipment (Solveig / boat)

- Stovetop only — no oven needed.
- **Pressure cooker** speeds the potatoes (≈4–5 min under pressure vs ~15–20 boiling); otherwise just boil in the normal pot.
- The brine cheese is crumbled in off the heat, so no oven-baking step is required (traditional saganaki is sometimes finished in the oven — skipped here for the small gas oven).

## Instructions

1. **Potatoes first.** Scrub and halve ~800g potatoes. Pressure-cook (or boil)
   until fork-tender. Drain, return to the pot, smash roughly with a fork (no
   blender needed), fold in a knob of butter or a glug of olive oil, season with
   salt. Keep warm with the lid on.
2. **Start the sauce while the potatoes cook.** Heat a generous glug of olive
   oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion with a pinch of
   salt; soften 5–6 min until translucent.
3. Add the sliced garlic and a pinch of chili; stir 30–60 s until fragrant
   (don't let the garlic brown).
4. *(Optional)* Pour in a splash of ouzo/white wine and let it bubble off ~1 min.
5. Add the chopped fresh tomatoes (and the optional tbsp of tomato paste/passata
   if they look watery). Simmer 8–12 min, stirring now and then, until it
   collapses into a thick, jammy sauce. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano if
   you bought it.
6. **Toast the bread** now — a few slices of the seeded bread, rubbed with the
   cut side of a garlic clove and brushed with olive oil if you like.
7. **Prawns go in last.** Slide the patted-dry prawns into the simmering sauce
   in a single layer. Cook 2–4 min, turning once, just until pink, opaque and
   curled — don't overcook or they turn rubbery.
8. Off the heat, crumble the white brine cheese over the top and scatter parsley.
   A squeeze of lemon to finish.
9. **Serve** the prawns and sauce spooned over the smashed potatoes, toast
   alongside to mop the pan.

## Variations

> **Note:** Authentic *garides saganaki* uses feta, ouzo and oregano and is
> often served only with crusty bread (no potatoes). Here the potatoes are added
> to clear the 5 kg bag, the Bulgarian white brine cheese stands in for feta, and
> the ouzo/oregano are optional since neither is in stock.

> **Note:** Add the optional reserved prawn shells to the oil in step 2, fry a
> minute, then discard before the onion — gives a deeper seafood flavour, but
> it's fiddly on a boat.

## Items used from inventory

| Item | ID | Location | Status |
|------|-----|----------|--------|
| ASC king prawns | shrimp-asc-2026-06-07 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-06-10 ⚠️ |
| MSC prawns 270g | shrimp-msc-270g-2026-06-07 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-06-10 ⚠️ |
| Fresh tomatoes | tomatoes-vine / -loose / -cherry | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-06-13 |
| Onion | onion-2026-05-24 | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-06-23 |
| Fresh garlic | garlic-fresh-2026-06-07 | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-07 |
| White brine cheese | cheese-bjalo-2026-06-07 | pantry-fridge | bb:2026-11-01 |
| Potatoes (5 kg) | category:potatoes | food3 | bb:2026-06-12 ⚠️ |
| Seeded bread | bread-seeded | pantry-drawer-bread | bb:2026-06-10 ⚠️ |
| Lemons | lemons | pantry-behind-stove | bb:2026-06-27 |
| Olive oil | oliveoil-costadoro | pantry-spice-stove | OK |
| Ground chili | chili-aladham | F-13 | OK |
| Dried parsley | parsley-dried-2026-05-16 | F-13 | OK |
| Butter | (pantry-fridge) | pantry-fridge | EXPIRED ~7d — smell-check |

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*Generated 2026-06-08 to use the thawing prawns (bb 06-10), expiring tomatoes (bb 06-13), potatoes (bb 06-12) and seeded bread (bb 06-10).*