Orzo with Prawns and Feta Crumble

Ingredients

• 150 g feta, crumbled
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 300 g prawns, peeled and deveined
• 2 tsp fennel seed
• 400 g cherry tomato, halved
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 200 ml orange blossom water
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200 g orzo
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• basil, for garnish

Method

1. Combine the feta in a small bowl with ¼ teaspoon of the chilli flakes, 2 teaspoons of the fennel seeds and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Stir gently — you want the feta to keep its texture, not turn to paste. Set aside to marinate while you get on with the rest; even fifteen minutes lets the fennel and chilli bloom into the oil.
2. Place a large sauté pan (one you have a lid for) over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the orzo, ⅛ teaspoon of salt and a good grind of pepper. Toast for 3–4 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until the orzo is the colour of pale honey and smells nutty and biscuit-toasted. This is the orzo's only chance to season itself — generously salt this stage, because once the liquid goes in there's no going back. Tip out into a bowl.
3. Return the pan to the same heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, the remaining ¾ teaspoon of chilli flakes, the other 2 teaspoons of fennel seeds, the garlic and the orange zest. Fry for about 1 minute, swirling the pan — bloom the spices in the oil until fragrant, and pull the garlic just as it turns pale gold. Don't burn it; burnt garlic turns the whole dish bitter, and there's no rescue.
4. Add the cherry tomatoes, the orange juice, the stock, 200 ml of water, ¾ teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper. The stock and water are doing real work here — they break the tomatoes down so they taste of summer fruit, not tin. Bring to the boil for 2–3 minutes, pressing on a few tomatoes with the back of your spoon, then stir in the toasted orzo.
5. Cover, lower the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice so nothing catches on the base. You're cooking risotto-style here — the orzo drinks the liquid and releases its starch.
6. Lift the lid and cook for a further 1–2 minutes, until the consistency is loose and risotto-like and the tomatoes have collapsed into the sauce. Taste now — adjust for salt and pepper at this stage, not at the table. The orange juice is your acid, but if it needs lifting, a small squeeze of lemon won't hurt.
7. Stir in the prawns and cook for 2–3 minutes, just until they curl into question marks and turn opaque pink. Push them under the sauce so they poach rather than steam — overcooked prawns go from tender to rubbery in about thirty seconds.
8. Tear the basil over the top, scatter the marinated feta crumble generously across each bowl, and finish with extra orange zest if you like — the cold, fennel-spiced feta against the hot, glossy orzo is the whole point of the dish.