Chef Dimitra
Aegean Island Chtapodi me Kritharaki (Χταπόδι με Κριθαράκι)
Aegean island octopus, tomato, red wine, and toasted kritharaki share one pot, so the pasta drinks the briny sauce and stays glossy instead of turning heavy.
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Thessaloniki Harbour Garides Saganaki (Γαρίδες Σαγανάκι)
Created by
Garides saganaki belongs to the Thessaloniki harbour table: shrimp, tomato, feta, a little ouzo, and the small two-handled pan that gives the dish its name.
Main Dishes
Greek
Dinner Party
Date Night
Comfort Food
15 min
Active Time
20 min cook•35 min total
Yield4 servings as a main dish, or 6 as a meze
Garides saganaki is a Thessaloniki harbour dish before it is a restaurant slogan: shrimp in a sharp tomato sauce, feta softening into the edges, and the little two-handled pan, the saganaki, brought straight to the table. The sauce is bright, salty, and a little briny. It asks for bread, not ceremony.
The one rule is timing. Build the tomato sauce first, until it is thick enough to leave a clean trail when you drag the spoon through it, then add the shrimp only at the end. Shrimp forgive almost nothing. Give them a few minutes in the hot sauce and they stay sweet and springy; cook them from the beginning and they turn tight before the feta even has time to warm.
Use good tomatoes in season, or good canned tomatoes when winter is telling the truth. A splash of ouzo is common in the north, but it should sit behind the tomato and seafood, not shout over them. Good olive oil, and patience. That is enough.
Saganaki takes its name from the small two-handled pan, related to the Turkish word sahan, and in Greece it names the vessel as much as the dish. Garides saganaki is a modern taverna and ouzerie dish, especially at urban harbour tables such as Thessaloniki, where seafood meze, tomato, feta, and anise-scented spirits met naturally in the same pan. Its history is not ancient village cooking, but it is still real Greek cooking: a recorded small-pan dish of the twentieth-century table.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
large raw shrimp (garides)
Quantity
600g
peeled and deveined, tails left on if liked
extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil
Quantity
60ml
yellow onion
Quantity
1 medium
finely chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
3
thinly sliced
small red chilli (optional)
Quantity
1
finely chopped
dried chilli flakes (optional)
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
dry white wine
Quantity
120ml
ouzo (optional)
Quantity
30ml
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
500g
grated
canned crushed tomatoes (optional)
Quantity
400g
tomato paste
Quantity
1 tablespoon
fine sea salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/4 teaspoon
dried Greek oregano
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
Greek feta
Quantity
180g
crumbled into large pieces
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
fresh dill
Quantity
1 tablespoon
chopped
lemon
Quantity
1
cut into wedges
country bread
Quantity
as needed
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| large raw shrimp (garides)peeled and deveined, tails left on if liked | 600g |
| extra virgin Koroneiki olive oil | 60ml |
| yellow onionfinely chopped | 1 medium |
| garlic clovesthinly sliced | 3 |
| small red chilli (optional)finely chopped | 1 |
| dried chilli flakes (optional) | 1/2 teaspoon |
| dry white wine | 120ml |
| ouzo (optional) | 30ml |
| ripe tomatoesgrated | 500g |
| canned crushed tomatoes (optional) | 400g |
| tomato paste | 1 tablespoon |
| fine sea saltplus more to taste | 1/2 teaspoon |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/4 teaspoon |
| dried Greek oregano | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Greek fetacrumbled into large pieces | 180g |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | 2 tablespoons |
| fresh dillchopped | 1 tablespoon |
| lemoncut into wedges | 1 |
| country breadfor serving | as needed |
Equipment Needed
- •26cm saganaki pan or ovenproof skillet
- •box grater for fresh tomatoes
- •fish spatula or wide spoon
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the shrimp
Pat the shrimp dry and season them lightly with a pinch of the salt and the black pepper. Keep them cold while you make the sauce. If the shrimp smell clean and faintly sweet, you're on the right road; if they smell strong, no sauce will rescue them.
- 2
Start the sauce
Warm the olive oil in a 26cm saganaki pan or ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until soft and pale gold at the edges. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for 1 minute more, just until the garlic smells sweet.
- 3
Reduce the wine
Stir in the tomato paste and let it darken for 1 minute. Pour in the wine and ouzo, scraping the pan, and let them bubble for 2 minutes so the sharp alcohol edge cooks off and the sauce begins to gather itself.
- 4
Thicken the tomato
Add the grated or crushed tomatoes, the remaining salt, and the oregano. Simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick and glossy and a spoon dragged through the pan leaves a clean trail for a moment.
If fresh tomatoes are pale and watery, use good canned tomatoes. The calendar is not sentimental. - 5
Add the shrimp
Heat the oven to 220C. Nestle the shrimp into the thick sauce in one layer and spoon a little sauce over them. Cook on the stovetop for 2 minutes only, until the undersides begin to turn pink. This late addition is what keeps the shrimp tender.
- 6
Finish with feta
Scatter the feta over the pan in large crumbles, not dust. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 5 to 7 minutes, until the shrimp are just opaque, the feta has softened, and the sauce bubbles thickly around the edges.
- 7
Serve at once
Rest the pan for 2 minutes, then finish with parsley, dill, and a thread of olive oil if the sauce wants it. Serve straight from the saganaki with lemon wedges and bread for the sauce. The pan is hot, so put it down with respect.
Chef Tips
- •Use large raw shrimp, not cooked shrimp. Cooked shrimp reheated in tomato sauce become tight and dull, and then everyone blames the recipe.
- •Feta should be Greek sheep's milk or sheep-and-goat milk feta, firm enough to crumble in large pieces. Soft salad cheese melts away and leaves the sauce muddy.
- •If you don't cook with ouzo, leave it out and use the wine alone. Don't replace it with something sweet. The dish needs brightness, not perfume.
- •Serve garides saganaki with bread, a bitter green salad, and chilled white wine or ouzo. It is rich from feta and oil, so the table around it should stay clean.
Advance Preparation
- •The tomato sauce can be made up to 1 day ahead and chilled. Reheat it until thick and bubbling before adding the shrimp.
- •Peel and devein the shrimp up to 6 hours ahead, then keep them covered in the refrigerator. Do not salt them until cooking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 350g)
Calories
545 calories
Total Fat
25 g
Saturated Fat
8 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
250 mg
Sodium
1160 mg
Total Carbohydrates
42 g
Dietary Fiber
4 g
Sugars
8 g
Protein
39 g
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