Greek(ish) Baked Shrimp, for the sour lover!

Greek(ish) Baked Shrimp

When I have a craving for sour, I pull out the pepperoncini and eat a few, right out of the jar.  If that doesn’t satisfy my need for acid, I make this dish.  Each time I make it I’ve added a new component and now it’s a great way to clean out the refrigerator of a bunch of pickled jarred items.  Tastes great too!

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons, Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 Tomatoes, cored, cut into large dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 mild roasted red pepper (I used fresh, but jarred is fine), diced
• 10 Kalmata Olives, coarsely chopped
• 3 Tablespoons Capers, rinsed
• 3 Pepperoncini peppers, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons of Threbe (Wild Greek Oregano)*
• ½ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 lb peeled, deveined raw shrimp
• 8 oz. Greek Sheep milk Feta cheese, diced
• 1 lemon, cut into supremes, broken into bits**

Method:

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add 3 Tablespoons of the Olive Oil.  Use the remaining Tablespoon of Olive Oil to oil the inside of a 9 x 12 baking dish.  Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cook the onion in the oil until it becomes softened (5 minutes).  Keep the heat down low, you don’t want any browning.  Add the Tomatoes and garlic.  Continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes begin to soften and the garlic is fragrant.

Add the red pepper, olives, capers, pepperoncini, Threbe and pepper.  Mix well.  Turn off the heat.  Fold in the shrimp, turning gently to coat the shrimp in the vegetable mix.  Pour this into your greased baking dish.

Sprinkle the diced feta over the top.  Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove when the shrimp are just turning pink, do not overcook your shrimp!  For a little more browning on top and to char the tips of the Feta, heat it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle the lemon bits over the whole dish.

Serve with potatoes or over rice or with bread for dipping into the amazing sauce at the bottom of the dish!

Enjoy!

*Wild Greek Oregano is a different plant than Mexican or European oregano.  It has a light herbaceous scent that is a secret ingredient to making things taste VERY GREEK!

**Citrus Supremes: A fancy chef way of cutting up a piece of citrus so you only have the citrus segments, without  peel, seeds, or membrane.  Cut the top and bottom off of the fruit.  Stand it on one of the flat ends.  Using downward slices around the fruit to carve away, not only the peel off the fruit, but the membrane as well; exposing just meat of each segment all the way around.  Trim it up a bit, removing ALL pith.  Now use your knife to remove each juicy segment.  Remove the seeds.  Those are citrus supremes that are left.  Takes practice. J

Roasting a Whole Chicken

I'm convinced that a roasted chicken is the perfect Sunday dinner.

• I love the ritual of rinsing off the chicken and then slathering it in some concoction of spice, citrus, fat and flavorings before putting the thing in the hot oven.
• I love the smell that wafts through the house as it begins to brown and the fat drips into the roasting pan.
• I love tucking root vegetables around the chicken in the pan. The easiest side dish ever!
• I love crispy chicken skin and being the chef means I get first dibs.

So, this Sunday I did a Greek rub on my bird. I'd do it again, except I'd leave my bay leaves whole as I had to scrape them off the chicken before slicing - they are just too tough to eat. I wish bay leaaves were tender and edible, I love their flavor!

Greek Rub for Roasted Whole Chicken

Ingredients
2 lemons, skin and pith cut off, leaving only the supremes
3 garlic cloves, smashed, peeled, roughly chopped
2 whole Bay Leaves
1 Tablespoon Greek Oregano*
1 Tablespoon fresh Thyme leaves
1 teaspoon salt
5-7 long pepper corns (or 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper)
1/2 Cup Olive Oil

Method
Combine the above ingredients in a bowl and smash with the back of a spoon to release the lemon juice into the mix. Slather inside, outside and under the skin of a chicken before roasting.

*A note on Greek Oregano: I used an herb called Threebe. It's a rare Greek herb that my husband bought for me at Le Sanctuaire (great spice and kitchen stuff store in Santa Monica, that you should have heard of if you consider yourself a foodie). I like Threebe but I actually prefer Greek Oregano, which is a more fragrant and bright sister to the Mexican Oregano that is readily available. I'm out of Greek Oregano, hence, Threebe.