Orzo with prawns, tomato and marinated feta from Ottolenghi Simple (page 193) by Yotam Ottolenghi

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • carolyn_bhwd0z on June 01, 2026

    Great recipe. Can do fish n prawns instead.

  • charlotte_03zeqn on May 19, 2026

    Added large shell on prawns on top for decoration

  • cameron_9ui0sv on May 14, 2026

    There’s a lot of variations on shrimp with orzo, tomato, and feta, but I think this one is my favorite.

  • JimCampbell on April 07, 2026

    A 4.0 out of 5. What a nice change for presenting prawns in a dish. Incredibly flavorful. The feta we were going to use had gone bad so we skipped it. The dish still came out tasting great. We used canned diced tomatoes. We also used a larger orzo grain, which adds a good mouth feel to the dish. We both feel the dish is a keeper and needs to go into the rotation.

  • Schooffiecooks on March 29, 2026

    Made it with vegetables instead of prawns

  • anya_sf on March 08, 2026

    Adapted to what I had on hand: passata, precooked shrimp, mint. Made 1/4 recipe, with some spinach added in the last few minutes of cooking, which was just enough for me with some bread. I really enjoyed the flavors and easy preparation.

  • JulieRom on February 15, 2026

    Delicious supper dish. I managed to half the ingredients and the recipe served two perfectly. Frying the orzo first really made a difference to the texture of it in the finished dish.

  • Scottryder on September 01, 2025

    The orange is a really wonderful addition, especially paired with the basil. Don’t skip it.

  • Stephenn31 on March 02, 2025

    Don't let the orzo overcook in the first fry, or it won't get tender. Definitely needs the feta.

  • lholtzman on January 02, 2025

    This dish without the feta lacked the seasoning it needed. I think it relies on the feta for the saltiness, so don’t skip or add salt. I would also salt the shrimp in the future. I always feel they need it.

  • Jane on January 09, 2024

    This is a good store-cupboard dinner for me as I always have shrimp in the freezer. Only ingredient I was missing was basil. It came together quickly and I enjoyed it. If you are serving the whole dish that night I would cut out the water and only add as needed as freshly made it was very soupy. But since I had leftovers the excess liquid just got absorbed by the pasta and stopped it drying out. The marinated feta is important for the dish.

  • bernalgirl on October 29, 2023

    Such an easy and delicious dinner. I brined and then seared the shrimp and removed them from the pan prior to continuing with the recipe, and was very happy with the results. The finished dish was both beautiful and tasty enough to serve for company, but quick enough for a busy night.

  • Lsblackburn1 on September 02, 2023

    I seem to always make some variation of this dish at this time of year to use my garden tomatoes and basil. This was simple and yummy using fresh tomatoes. Also used chicken stock and left out the orange.

  • ksg518 on August 30, 2023

    Very good version of the classic shrimp, feta and pasta. I didn’t have the orange but, judging from the other notes, that was not a problem. Also I used chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock stock. I really liked the marinated feta and fennel.

  • Delys77 on March 22, 2023

    I've made a few versions of this dish from other books, notably the Essential NY Times and an Ina Garten book I believe. Overall the combo of tomato, feta, fennel/anise/pernod, and shrimp is usually a winner for us. This dish is a bit simpler than some others and I really liked the toasted orzo and somewhat risotto like texture of this dish so would put it ahead of a few others. We had no orange in the house so left it out, but as per many others it didn't seem to do much for the dish. That said, I think we do need some bright acidity here. The feta is lovely but I didn't serve all of it as I thought that would be too much creamy dairy for the dish, but then found myself lacking a touch of freshness, which is why I would likely serve with lemon for those who want less cheese but want to up the acidity.

  • pomegranate on July 15, 2022

    This was delicious and super easy. I used shrimp, goat cheese, and orange zest instead of the peel. Everyone loved it.

  • Pimlicocook on January 08, 2022

    I loved this. Followed the recipe but cooking for one, so halved the sauce ingredients and quartered the orzo, while being generous with prawns (which I adore). It was a bit soupier than risotto, but still utterly delicious. I would probably reduce water/stock by a quarter (so still a bit more than the recipe calls for per portion), but I loved being able to mop up the juice with bread. Unlike other reviewers, I thought the orange/fennel/chilli balance was subtle and spot-on. Will definitely make again. Simple and so good.

  • aargle on July 23, 2021

    This was a lovely family meal on a Saturday night and we all enjoyed it immensely. None of us found the fennel overwhelming but then again I love fennel. Will definitely make again.

  • sgmensing on February 21, 2021

    We loved this! I was careful to grind the toasted fennel, not leaving any whole seeds (mortar & pestle grinding). I also cooked the orzo until it was at least a medium brown. I didn't notice the orange flavor as many people noted, but wouldn't eliminate it since Ottolenghi knows how to combine flavors and it could be making a subtle difference.

  • lofolky on January 01, 2021

    Made this for my family and thought it was delicious! Made a few adjustments to the recipe based on other comments here. Only 1tsp fennel on the feta and less than 2 tsp in the sauce. Also added some lemon zest to the feta and lemon juice when the orzo was cooking. Also used more shrimp than the recipe called for. Turned out great.

  • Astrid5555 on February 29, 2020

    Good, but not one of the spectacular recipes from this book. Still, the feta and fennel seeds make it special, but not special enough to repeat in the near future.

  • KarinaFrancis on February 07, 2020

    Delicious! We loved it. Based on the previous notes I cut back on the fennel and might have stumbled on the right amount. Agree that the orange adds nothing, next time I’ll add a squeeze of lemon at end instead.

  • Nomola on November 25, 2019

    Made for friends with a ‘fussy’ daughter - it was lovely, I think I’ll use a little more chilli next time. The fennel was obvious but I didn’t think overpowering. Easy to make

  • mharriman on October 24, 2019

    I liked this better than my husband did. We both like fennel, so that wasn’t an issue for us. However, we couldn’t figure out what it or the orange peels were supposed to do as we couldn’t detect even a hint of orange and only a mild fennel flavor. We thought the chili flakes overtook the other spice ingredients. I followed the instructions and ingredient list as directed and felt it took more steps and time than I prefer for our “pretty good” enjoyment of it. Probably won’t repeat as there are other orzo, tomato, and shrimp recipes out there that aren’t as involved that I like better.

  • Barb_N on March 20, 2019

    This is a favorite combination of mine- shrimp, orzo, feta and tomato, so I decided to try out the Ottolenghi spin. Overall it is simple, tasty and very beautiful. I wish I had paid more attention to the reviews about the fennel; I found the seeds were intrusive and didn’t add a lot of flavor (a new jar no less). My tomato pieces did not break down to a sauce like the photo in the book. Marinating the feta the night before meant that this was on the table in 30 minutes once I finished the prep. 1/21/20 ETA: I made this again using fresh fennel instead of fennel seeds. Half the thinly sliced bulb was sautéed with the garlic, the other half topped with a preserved lemon vinaigrette. I put some preserved lemon in the marinated feta and in the orzo in place of the orange peel- perhaps a bit TOO lemony but I really liked the fresh fennel in place of the seeds.

  • bwhip on December 21, 2018

    This was very tasty, and easy to put together quickly on a weeknight. I scaled back the fennel to three teaspoons based on some of the feedback from other reviewers, and it seemed just right to me.

  • nadiakoj on December 04, 2018

    Really simple (!) dish but the fennel was a little too strong. Will half the amount mixed in with the feta next time.

  • Zosia on October 18, 2018

    This was quick and tasty but there was a little too much fennel for me and I couldn't detect the orange at all. I think I would prefer it with half the fennel and perhaps with some grated orange zest stirred in with the basil at the end.

  • lou_weez on September 27, 2018

    Considering I didn't feel like cooking dinner, this was a delicious, super easy, one pan dish, that I'm really glad I made. I thought the fennel would overpower everything but it was lovely against the sweetness of the prawns.

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