Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec) is a very much loved seafood dish in Turkey that is usually served as an appetiser or hot starter in seafood restaurants. This delicious dish is made of fresh prawns cooked in a tomato-based sauce and then topped with cheese.
It's a very easy recipe to follow and it is ready to eat in just half an hour. A perfect weekday meal when paired with some Bazlama (Turkish Flatbread) and a bowl of Rocket Salad with Parmesan.
Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec) are typically cooked and served in an earthenware pot called guvec. These clay pots are widely used in Turkey to cook casserole dishes such as Turkish Chickpea Stew (Nohut Yahni) or Guvec (Turkish Lamb Casserole). Don't worry if you don't have one of these clay dishes as any casserole dish would do the job.
How to Cook Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec)?
This is a very simple, straightforward recipe and to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
- Prepare the prawns - Although the best prawns for this dish are tiger prawns, you can use any other prawn you like. If you are using fresh prawns in the shell, twist off the head, peel the shell off and make a small incision to remove the vein. There is a short video attached to the recipe card to show how to peel and devein raw prawns. Cooking time in this recipe is given for tiger prawns so if you use smaller ones, reduce the cooking time.
- Prepare the tomato sauce - Preheat the fan oven to 180 °C and start cooking the tomato-based sauce. Melt 20 grams of butter in a frying pan and saute the mushrooms. Add the peppers and garlic, and sauté for a few more minutes. Stir in the tomato paste then add the tomatoes, chilli, black pepper and salt. Skip the tomato paste if you are using nice ripen juicy summer tomatoes. Stir to combine then gently cook on low heat for 6-7 minutes.
- Bake the prawns in tomato-based sauce - Take the pan from the heat and add the raw prawns into the tomato-based sauce, give it a stir. Spoon the mixture into an oven dish or 4 individual ramekins then sprinkle on the cheese. Cut 30 grams of butter into cubes and spread them over the cheese. Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cheese on the top is melted and the prawns are cooked.
I hope you enjoy the process of making these cheesy Baked Prawns as much as you enjoy eating them! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
Baked Prawns (Karides Guvec)
Equipment
- 1 Grater
Ingredients
- 600 g prawns (ideally tiger prawns) (peeled and deveined)
- 50 g butter (20 g + 30 g separately)
- 250 g button mushrooms or chestnut mushroom (sliced)
- 2-3 Turkish green chilies or 1 bell pepper (cut in half, seeded and sliced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 5 medium tomatoes (chopped, approximately 500 grams)
- ½ tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ chopped red chili or ½ teaspoon flaked chili (optional)
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 100 g kasar cheese (grated)
- 100 g cheddar cheese (grated)
Instructions
- Preheat the fan oven to 180 °C.
- Melt 20 grams of butter in a frying pan and saute the mushrooms.
- Add the peppers and garlic, saute for a few more minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste then add the tomatoes, chilli, black pepper and salt. Stir to combine then gently cook on low heat for 6-7 minutes.
- Take the pan from the heat and add the prawns, give it a stir.
- Spoon the mixture into an oven dish or 4 individual ramekins and sprinkle on the cheese. Cut 30 grams of butter into cubes and spread them over the cheese.
- Cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the cheese on the top is melted and the prawns are cooked.
Video
Nutrition
FOOD SAFETY
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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Did you make this recipe?
Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.
Ayla
Amazingly tasty
Ruth
This was a big hit! Delicious but easy to prepare: we will definitely be making this again.