Receta Ina Garten's Roasted Shrimp with Feta
Shrimp is far and away the popular
seafood in the country and has been for at least the last 10
years. Nothing comes remotely close to
per capita shrimp consumption which hit 3.6 lbs. last year. Just for comparison, salmon
catapulted to the second position beating canned tuna for the first time ever
in 2013. But it’s an also-ran with
Americans eating fully a pound less of salmon than they do of shrimp. Needless to say, I am a shrimp aficionado. It is so easy to keep a bag of frozen shrimp
in the freezer. They defrost in no time
and like almost all seafood, they cook in record time. So when I came across this Ina Garten recipe
from her 2010 cookbook “How Easy is That?” (Clarkson Potter), I had to try it. The results were nothing short of
remarkable.
First
of all, this is a one skillet wonder that comes together in just over a half
hour. Ina suggests making it early in
the day and then popping it in the oven for the final 15 minutes of baking
time. Secondly, if you are not familiar
with any Greek food other than baklava, you can introduce your family and
friends to this combination of Greek flavor.
Tomatoes, garlic, oregano and Feta cheese all meld together without
hiding the taste of the shrimp themselves.
Ina calls for Pernod, the anise flavored liqueur that
will always remind me of the south of France.
It just so happened, I had a small quantity of Ouzo. Ouzo is about as
Greek as Aristotle. After a pure white alcohol has been distilled, it is then
infused with herbs: aniseed, licorice, mint, wintergreen, fennel and
hazelnut. As you can see, three of these
ingredients add to its anise flavor.
And as you can see, the other ingredient boosting that flavor is Fennel
itself. A loaf of crusty bread lets
everyone soak up every drop of the delicious sauce.
Recipe for Ina Garten's Roasted
Shrimp With Feta
Copyright 2010, Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That? by Ina
Garten, Clarkson Potter/Publishers, All Rights Reserved
Serves 4. Takes about 35 minutes to make.
4
- tablespoons good olive oil, divided
- 1½ cups
- medium-diced fennel
- 1 tablespoon
- minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 1
- (14½-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon
- Pernod or Ouzo
- ½ teaspoon
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1¼ pounds
- (16 to 20 per pound) peeled shrimp with tails on
- 5 ounces
- good feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
- 3 tablespoons
- minced fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon
- grated lemon zest
- Preheat the
- oven to 400 degrees.
- 1. Heat 2
- tablespoons of the olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch heavy ovenproof skillet over
- medium-low heat. Add the fennel and sauté for 8 to 10 minutes, until the fennel
- is tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the wine and bring to a
boil, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the liquid
is reduced by half.
2. Add the tomatoes with the liquid, tomato paste, oregano,
Pernod or Ouzo, salt, and pepper to the skillet. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring
occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Arrange the
shrimp, tails up, in one layer over the tomato -mixture in the skillet. Scatter
the feta evenly over the shrimp.
4. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs,
parsley, and lemon zest with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and
sprinkle over the shrimp.
5. Bake for 15
minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and the bread crumbs are golden brown.
Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon over the shrimp. Serve hot with the remaining
lemon cut into wedges.