Serves: 2
Recipe by Maria Benardis, Founder of Greekalicious and author “My Greek Family Table” winner of the prestigious 2009 Gourmand World Cook Book Award – Best Mediterranean Cuisine Book
(photo by Alan Benson – SBS Food web-site)
The Ancient Egyptians taught the Ancient Greeks bread making and they made many shaped breads including pita bread and other flat breads. They taught these breads many years later to the Ancient Romans who used the Greek flat bread as basis for the dish called pizza.
The Ancient Greeks also used flat breads as an alternative to plates. They would place all their food on the pita bread and eat their meal this way. This resembled a pizza without the tomato and cheese base.
In addition the Ancient Greeks had a flat bread called “plakous” “plakountos” which was flavored with toppings like herbs, onion, and garlic. This is believed to be the earliest form of pizza. This is not dissimilar to the garlic bread and herbed bread that we know today.
Ingredients
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle
- 4 small red onions, thinly sliced
- 2 tsp honey
- 4 small pita breads
- 100 g Greek kasseri cheese (see Note), grated
- 16 medium green prawns, shells removed and deveined
- ½ tsp hot paprika
- salt and cracked black pepper
- 2 tsp Greek-style yoghurt
- 2 tbsp dill, chopped
Method
Heat the olive oil in a medium-size frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for 20 minutes until golden. Add the honey, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until caramelised.
Preheat oven to 180˚C.
Place the pita breads on 2 oven trays lined with baking paper and scatter over the cheese. Spread the caramelised onion on top of the cheese. Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes until the cheese begins to bubble. Remove from the oven and divide the prawns among the pita breads. Sprinkle with paprika and season to taste. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and bake for 10 minutes until the prawns are just cooked.
To serve, place a teaspoon of yoghurt in the centre of each pita and sprinkle over the dill. Serve immediately.
© 2013 Maria Benardis. All rights reserved.
