Theodore Kyriakous Tomato Sauce Recipes

CREVETTES WITH FETA AND TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
• Pour the tomato sauce into a large flat oven dish and pour the tomato sauce into it, scatter the feta on top and put it into the oven for 5 minutes until the feta begins to melt.
• Heat 25 ml (just short of 1 tablespoon) of olive oil in a frying pan, add the spring onions, garlic and thyme; and gently sauté for 5 minutes or until the onions are soft, then stir them into the tomato sauce in the oven dish. Return the dish to the oven to keep warm.
• Put the pan back on the heat, add the remaining olive oil and sear the crevettes (or prawns) for 2 or 3 minutes. Then flame the pan with the Ouzo.
• When the flames have died down, add the crevettes and the pan juices to the oven dish full of tomato sauce. Season with black pepper and mix everything together and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes to allow the flavours to amalgamate.
• Remove the dish from the oven, and pour the extra virgin olive oil over the top.
• Allow the dish to cool a little before serving so that it can be eaten by hand with crisp bread.

IMAM BAYALDI

Steps:

• Peel half the skin away from the eggplants in long strips, so that they look stripy. With the tip of a paring knife, make a deep slash lenghtways on each eggplant. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and allow them to stand for 30 minutes, then rinse.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4.
• Put the onions into a pan, preferably non-stick, with 50ml of the olive oil and the sugar. Cook very slowly for about 1 hour until the onions are completely soft and the mixture is the consistency of a light jam.
• Spread one third of the mixture over the base of an oiled casserole dish (it needs to be a casserole dish with a lid, as you'll need to use the lid later), then add a layer of chopped tomatoes and set aside.
• Add the remaining tomatoes to the fried onions in the pan; and add the nutmeg and half of the parsley; mix well and cook for 10 minutes.
• Add the water to the pan contents and stir; arrange the eggplants on the onion mixture in the bottom of the casserole and with a spoon, stuff the garlic slices into the slashes in the eggplants.
• Add the pan contents to the casserole dish and work it into the slashes in the eggplants as well. At this point, the casserole dish should be really full!
• Season to taste and pour the remaining oil over the contents; cover the casserole with a sheet of foil and then the lid. This should ensure that it is thoroughly sealed.
• Cook in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the eggplants are really soft. If you like a thick sauce, remove the lid for the last 10 minutes to allow it to dry off a little.
• Allow the dish to cool off until it is lukewarm, then sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve.