Sometimes the pantry and freezer are a cooks best friends. Last night proved that point once again . With no fresh ingredients that caught my creativity I was in a culinary panic. Hey, there’s a bag of 16/20 shell-on shrimp in the freezer.
I always had a soft spot for the famous Greek Shrimp at Jimmy’s Harborside Restaurant on the Boston waterfront (the restaurant has since been torn down and replaced by a Legal Seafoods). They called it “Shrimp a La Greque”, a dish with a Greek influenced tomato sauce and Feta cheese.
Oh yes, Google is another hero for this meal. Again.
Based on Williams-Sonoma
GREEK SHRIMP with Tomatoes & Cheese
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/greek-shrimp-with-tomatoes-and-feta-cheese.html
I looked at the recipe, assessed the ingredients on hand and this is how I put it together for two of us:
I sautéed finely chopped shallots and garlic in olive oil, added some dry/white vermouth (its always in the booz closet cupboard) and let it reduce down a bit. Added 10-12 halved cherry tomatoes and cooked until they softened. Added 14-ounce can Wegmans Roasted diced tomatoes, dried oregano, salt, red pepper flakes and a good paprika (I prefer Pimenton De LA VERA from Amazon), then some feta cheese, crumbled, and 20 raw shelled shrimp. Covered the pan to gently simmer the shrimp until done.
I Spirialized zucchini (you know, ZOODLES) and lightly sautéed them in olive oil with garlic & roasted red peppers and topped them with the Shrimp and sauce.
A couple pieces of Garlic Toast and an excellent fast dinner that looked like I knew what I was doing.