Shrimp Saganaki

I’ve been craving some flavors of Greece and I just happened to have all the ingredients on hand for Saganaki. My Mom (Yiayia to my kids) used to make this dish for her father and occasionally for us. It’s super simple and you can get dinner on the table in an hour. Serve it over rice or noodles and a side of greens. Make sure to have some fresh French bread to soak up the sauce. We served it over cauliflower rice this evening. I was only cooking for the 2 of us, so this served 2

Ingredients

12 Shrimp I used frozen tail-on (21-25 shrimp/pound)

1/2 Onion Diced

2 Cloves Garlic Chopped

2 Tomatoes Grated into a bowl. Toss the skins

1 tsp Sugar

3+ Tbsp EVOO Best Extra Virgin Olive oil you have

1 tbsp. Tomato Paste

1/2 to full Shot Ouzo

5-6 oz Feta Crumbled

3-4 sprigs Basil

1 Tsp Oregano

Salt

Pepper

Romesco sauce Optional – I had some frozen and put a good tablespoon in at the same time I added the tomato paste

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200C)

Sauté the shrimp on high heat with a little bit of EVOO for about 1 minute on each side. You just want to give it a little char. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add sugar, salt and pepper to grated tomato and mix well

Place the sauté pan back on medium high heat, add onion and garlic. Sauté for about 10 minutes to barely caramelize the onion. Add extra EVOO if needed. I added a couple Tbsp during the 10 minutes.

Add tomato paste (and romesco) and sauté for a couple minutes to incorporate.

Add the ouzo and flambé. The flame will stop in about 20 seconds, but be prepared for it. Don’t forgot the shot of ouzo for the cook 🙂 Opa!

I used a square 8″ baking pan. Pour the mixture in the pan, add some of the basil and 1/2 the feta cheese. Crumble the cheese around the pan

Arrange the shrimp around the pan, submerging them into the sauce. Add the remaining feta, basil and sprinkle with oregano