Hearty and warming, this prawn and tomato stew with fregola is a comforting bowl, with the fresh pesto brightening every bite. It pairs beautifully with a crisp, fragrant, quick-pickled vegetable salad; the freshness cuts through the richness of the stew perfectly. I’ve always loved leafy, lively salads, and I could honestly eat one with every meal, every day.
Prawn and tomato stew with fregola and coriander pesto (pictured top)
Prep 20 min
Cook 50 min
Serves 4
220g cherry tomatoes
60ml olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped (180g)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (15g)
1 green chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
1½ tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar
1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar
6 cardamom pods, lightly bashed
15g dill, finely chopped
2 tsp tomato paste
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
Salt and black pepper
120g fregola
400g frozen king prawns, defrosted, or fresh, peeled and deveined
For the coriander pesto
20g coriander, roughly chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
35g pine nuts, lightly toasted
3 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, zest finely grated to get 1½ tsp, then cut into wedges, to serve
Put a large saute pan on a high heat. Toss the tomatoes with a teaspoon of oil and, once the pan is very hot, add the tomatoes and cook, shaking the pan a few times, for about five minutes, until blistered and deeply charred all over. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Put another two tablespoons of oil in the same pan and return it to the stove on a medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for about five minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, spices, dill and tomato paste, and cook for another two minutes, until fragrant.
Add the tinned tomatoes, 300ml water, one and three-quarter teaspoons of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Bring to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 25 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the tomatoes have completely broken down.
While the sauce is cooking, cook the fregola in plenty of boiling salted water for 10 minutes. Drain, put in a bowl then toss with a bit of olive oil to prevent the fregola from clumping.
To make the pesto, put the coriander, chilli, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon zest and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a food processor and pulse a few times to make a coarse paste.
When the sauce is ready, stir in the cooked fregola, prawns and charred tomatoes, cover and cook on a medium heat, stirring occasionally, for another five to six minutes, until the prawns are cooked through.
Serve straight from the pan or spoon into wide shallow bowls. Finish with some of the pesto and serve at once with lemon wedges and the remaining pesto in a bowl alongside, as well as the herby quick-pickled vegetable salad below.
Herby quick-pickled vegetable salad
Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min, plus cooling
Serves 4
90ml apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
½ tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp caraway seeds
Salt and black pepper
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced (60g)
1 small golden beetroot, peeled and very thinly sliced (180g)
½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced lengthways (150g)
2 medium purple carrots, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
3 tbsp olive oil
2 dolce romaine lettuce
5g picked dill fronds
5g basil leaves
5g picked coriander leaves
5g picked mint leaves
Put 50ml of the vinegar in a small saucepan with the sugar, coriander and caraway seeds. Add a teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the sliced onion and beetroot, then turn down the heat to medium and cook for two minutes. Take off the heat, leave to cool down completely, then drain.
Put the fennel, carrot, and cooled onion and beets in a large bowl. Add the olive oil, the remaining vinegar, a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper, and toss so all the vegetables are coated. Separate the lettuce leaves, then wash and drain them well.
To serve, arrange the lettuce, vegetables and herbs in layers on a platter, and drizzle any remaining dressing on top.
-
Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine, by Sami Tamimi, is published by Ebury Press at £30. To order a copy for £25.50, visit guardianbookshop.com
