Hubby & I get every third weekend alone, oh how we look forward to these weekends alone, precious time together…ALONE, no children, no work, no stress, no cleaning, its pure bliss and we know its what keeps our marriage alive and well. Far to many couples lose sight of there relationship with each other by getting caught up in the everyday technicalities that are and is LIFE. You forget to make time for each other, life becomes about rushing from here to there, doing everything for everyone and lots of STRESS !!!!! Somewhere you two as a couple become lost.
 
So here’s how it works for us, Ben (Hubby) is my best friend, please don’t throw up just yet, I know, bit soppy but he is and I love spending time with him. He works so hard and we have so little time together, that the time we do have is precious, hence why I do everything I can for him, so that when he is at home he can just relax, no cooking, no cleaning, no gardening, I do the lot. When he is home I want his undivided attention. We love to go out for dinner, to The Bell for drinks, the cinema, walks, just anything to spend time together, but weekends alone are different, they are just about chilling with good wine, good food and lots of lazing around.
 
So weekends alone start with a Friday night trip to Sainsburys for all the goodies we will need for the weekend. Criteria being, good quality, easy to cook food, lots of wine & something sweet, normally turkish delight for moi and Ben & Jerrys ice cream for hubby. After this the most strenuous part of the weekend may be a walk or going next door for the Sunday paper. As I said pure BLISS.
 
Well this recipe is one of our favourites, normally it would make a great starter if you were having guests round, but we like to share the whole bowl as a dinner with crusty bread and an amazing glass of good wine.
 
So I hope you enjoy this recipe and as I said this recipe of making time for each other seems to be working for us, 5 years together now and we are still so in love with each other, yep, you can now throw up.
 
Buon appetito.
 
Serves 6 or more (Or in our case 2)
 
2kg large raw prawns (unpeeled)
200g butter
10 garlic cloves, finely chopped (not very romantic I hear you say, but fine if you are both having them)
45g chopped parsley
Less than 1 teaspoon peri peri spice
Juice of 4 lemons
400g feta cheese
 
Clean the prawns and cut a slit through the shell down the back from the bottom of the head to the beginning of the tail. Remove the dark vein with the point of a sharp knife. Rinse the prawns under running water and drain well. I am sure you can get your fishmonger to do this for you, or cheat like we do and buy them shelled, not such a good effect if you are trying to impress at a dinner party, but taste just as good.
 
Dot about 80g of the butter over the base of a large cast-iron casserole dish. Arrange a single layer of prawns in the dish and season with salt. Scatter about a third of the garlic and parsley over the top. Sprinkle with a little of the peri peri.
 
Dot about half of the remaining butter over the top and arrange another layer of prawns, scattered with garlic, parsley and peri peri. Repeat the layer, finishing up the ingredients.
 
Put on the lid, turn the heat to medium-high and cook for about 10 minutes, until the prawns have brightened up a lot and their flesh is white. Add the lemon juice, crumble the feta over the top and rock the dish from side to side to move the sauce about.
 
Spoon some sauce over the prawns. Cover the casserole, lower the heat and cook for another 10 minutes or until the feta has just melted, shaking the pan again. Take the dish straight to the table and give everyone a hot finger bowl with lemon juice to clean their hand afterwards.
 
Serve as they are as a starter, I always have crusty bread with mine to mop up the yummy sauce or this would also make an amazing lunch served with a Greek salad.