Greek Inspired, Shrimp With Tomatoes And Feta

Hi! I'm now working from Wordpress. I've spent a great deal of time editing and reorganising this post on Wordpress and it is so much friendlier to read & follow my recipe from there. Click on this link to take you directly to the recipe:

Greek Inspired Shrimp With Tomatoes And Feta

Link to my newest and old recipes, click:

https://kitchenbaroness.wordpress.com/

Shrimp coated in a savoury tomato sauce that is not too heavily seasoned and then rounded off with cubes of feta. 

This dish not only goes well served as part of a meze, it is good on pasta, with lightly buttered rice or in a sandwich. I do like this recipe. I like it even better because it is an easy recipe.

This recipe is the 4th recipe I am posting from a list of 10 meze (hors' d'oeuvres) that I had mentioned in my recent post, Meze, A Selection of Wonderful Little Bites. I thought the recipes would come in useful as we approach the festive season. 

Serving some pre-prepared starters is always a good start to any party and it works even better at year-end parties when guests lists typically get longer and menus more fancy. 

Prepared in advance, laying out appetisers will free you somewhat from having to slog too long in the kitchen whilst everyone else is having a good time at your party. It will also ease your mind knowing you won't have guests following you with hungry eyes and you won't be in a state of frenzy while trying to get food out on the table. 

You will be cool, calm and collected and have time to glide around your guests. So much better than to be scampering around in the kitchen!

Here are all the 10 meze that I served at a recent meze party, Meze, A Selection of Wonderful Little Bites. Scroll to the bottom of the page to find out the names of the meze.

GREEK INSPIRED, SHRIMP WITH TOMATOES AND FETA 

Prep:	10 minutes
Cook:	30 minutes
Inactive:	-
Level:	Easy
Serves:	6 as part of a meze or 2 as a main course with pasta, rice or in a sandwich.
Oven Temperature:	-
Can recipe be doubled?	Yes
Make ahead?	Up to 3 days. Keep covered and refrigerated. It can also be frozen up to 5 days. Hold off adding the feta though. Defrost in the chiller overnight, reheat and then add feta.

Ingredients

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup onions very finely diced 

1 can (14 oz) (400g) diced tomatoes

1/4 cup parsley finely cut, reserve 1 Tablespoon for sprinkling over cooked dish

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 Tablespoon minced garlic

14 oz (400 g) medium size shrimp that have been shelled

3 oz (85 g) feta cubed

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over cooked dish

Method

Pour 4 Tablespoons of olive oil into a saucepan or pot and heat up on medium high. Add the diced onions and saute until softened, translucent and slightly brown at the edges. About 10 minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes, parsley, oregano, cinnamon, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, slightly covered for 10 minutes. 

Add garlic, cover slightly and simmer for another 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Taste it. You should have a sauce that looks similar to the one below. 

Add the shrimp and simmer for 5 minutes covered or until shrimp turn pink and are cooked. 

Gently stir in feta. Cover, turn off the heat and remove from the burner. It doesn't matter if you still have chunks of feta. Actually, you want chunks.

After 2 minutes, uncover and adjust seasonings. Plate it, drizzle extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle over the reserved chopped parsley.

That was my dinner. Yummy, yummy. I baked the flat bread you see draped over the shrimp with a dough starter that I have been maintaining for over a month in my chiller. It bakes really tasty bread with a nice chew.

Tips 

• To save yourself time and hassle, use frozen shrimp that have been shelled.
• Choose medium size shrimp over small ones. It will look more appetising when plated. Small shrimp will look pretty measly on the table. It will have little to zero ''wow" factor even if it tastes good. We do 'eat' with our eyes first.
• I have cooked and froze this 5 days ahead and thawed in the refrigerator overnight. Add the feta only after warming through. Do not over heat. Still tasted good.
• Again, this tastes good over pasta, rice and in sandwiches. Do try.

WHAT'S COMING UP NEXT?                                               

It is time for some pickles to go with the meze recipes that I have posted. So look out for my upcoming post on, Kabis - Lebanese Pickled Turnips and Beets.

To recap, this post is part of my series on Meze, A Selection of Wonderful Little Bites. 

First row:

Zaalouk - Moroccan Roasted Eggplants and Tomatoes; Kabis - Lebanese Pickled Turnips & Beets; Moroccan inspired Radish, Bell Peppers and Mint Salad; Flash Fried Sweet Mini Bell Peppers.

Second row:

Greek inspired Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta; Hummus with Spiced Angus Beef Slices; Beef Kafta - Lebanese inspired Meatballs.

Third row:

Labneh - Lebanese Drained Yogurt Drizzled With Extra Virgin Olive Oil And Clover Honey; Moroccan inspired Roasted Green Bell Peppers and Tomatoes With Olives; Fresh Figs With Peppered Ricotta. 

Here are the recipes I have posted:

• Zaalouk, Roasted Eggplants and Peppers
• Flash Fried Sweet Mini Bell Peppers
• Labneh - Lebanese Drained Yogurt Drizzled With Extra Virgin Olive Oil And Clover Honey
• Greek inspired Shrimp With Tomatoes And Feta
• Kabis - Lebanese Pickled Turnips and Beets
• Fresh Figs With Peppered Ricotta
• Hummus with Spiced Angus Beef Slices
• Moroccan inspired Radish, Bell Peppers and Mint Salad
• Beef Kafta - Lebanese inspired Meatballs
• Moroccan inspired Roasted Green Bell Peppers With Tomatoes and Olives
• Moroccan inspired Wholemeal Round Loaf

Prep:

10 minutes

Cook:

30 minutes

Inactive:

-

Level:

Easy

Serves:

6 as part of a meze or 2 as a main course with pasta, rice or in a sandwich.

Oven Temperature:

-

Can recipe be doubled?

Yes

Make ahead?

Up to 3 days. Keep covered and refrigerated. It can also be frozen up to 5 days. Hold off adding the feta though. Defrost in the chiller overnight, reheat and then add feta.