It’s interesting how Christmas Traditions start. There is something about the Pagan then Christian ritual of Christmas that seems to encourage us to do and eat and drink things in a ritualistic way as well for sustenance and hedonism. This warmed salad of prawns, feta, fennel and peppers tossed through barley shaped orzo pasta has become one of my Christmas traditions. It originated as a Cuisine Magazine recipe I would make in the summer months when I had a family. When that came to an end I was reintegrated into the wider family Christmas and this Mediterranean influenced summer salad seemed to suit our Southern Hemisphere Christmas so I started making it as my contribution to the feast. I added to the original recipe , feta capers and olives were not in the original and I pimped it on occasions with crayfish and scallops ,  a Christmas tradition was born.

There is a certain alchemy that takes place with the feta, lemon juice and olive oil that makes the most amazing dressing.

Ingredients

• Multicoloured capsicum peppers sliced
• A couple of fennel bulbs sliced , herb ends chopped and reserved
• Raw prawns, and other seafood if feeling extravagant
• Kalamata Olives with the stones squeezed out
• A block of feta crumbled
• Capers
• Cup of Orzo/Risonni cooked to instructions
• Olive oil
• Juice of several lemons
• Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180c

Heat a casserole, lasagna or roasting dish in the oven

Give it a good splash of olive oil , add sliced peppers and fennel bulb, stir to mix and return to oven.

Open oven and stir every couple of minutes until they are just starting to soften, probably 10 minutes

Add Prawns and stir , return to oven for 5 minutes. Stirring once of twice .

As prawns start to change colour and cook through add feta, olives and capers return to oven for a minute

Add the cooked orzo , mix through

Squeeze in lemon juice , season to taste . Be carefull as the feta, olives and capers will add salt on their own.

Dress with fennel tops.

Can be eaten warm or at room temp.