Mediterranean Shrimp –Roasted with Feta

Most outstanding shrimp recipe from Ina Garten. All the tastes of the Mediterranean in one dish. It’s roasted shrimp with feta, fennel, tomatoes, lemons, Pernod,  wine and other good things. This was really so very delicious we ate it 2 nights in a row. It doesn’t need rice or pasta but if you’re having 6 people you can stretch it by adding the starch.  I used 1 1/4 lbs.  of shrimp and we had dinner for 2 nights. It was the first time making recipe so I wanted to use the right amount of ingredients. You can easily cut this in half for two people. This recipe as is will generously serve 4.

There are a lot of ingredients and I had to buy a bottle of Pernod but don’t let this discourage you.  You’ll also need a 12″ heavy ovenproof skillet and there is a lot of prep but you’ll look like a pro when this dish comes out of the oven. It really wasn’t difficult and have your fish store prepare shrimp. (Peel and de-vein) if you’d like you can leave tails on but I didn’t and it was perfectly fine.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided into 2 tablespoons each

1 1/2 cups medium-diced fennel

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 14 1/2 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon Pernod ( available in most liquor stores)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 lbs ( app. 16 per pound) peeled and de-veined shrimp ( I prefer Mexican White and can usually obtain them) Talk to your local Fish Store.

4 -5 ounces good feta cheese, coarsely crumbled

1 cup fresh bread crumbs , yes I made them myself in the food processor–just throw 3 slices of white bread into food processor with crusts on and chop! it’s so much better than store-bought, just saying.

3 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

2 lemons–1 for zesting and juicing and 1 cut into wedges to serve with dish

Directions:

Prepare shrimp and set aside, I like to place clean shrimp on paper towels to dry them before cooking.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

Spray 12″ skillet with cooking spray for easier clean-up. Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the chopped fennel and sauté for about 10 minutes, until the fennel is softened. Add the garlic and cook for a quick minute. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scraping up any brown bits for about 2-3 minutes and the liquid is reduced by about half. Add the tomatoes with their liquid, tomato paste , oregano, Pernod, Salt and Pepper to the skillet. Simmer over medium-low heat , stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.

While the shrimp is cooking combine the bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil and set aside.

Turn off the heat and arrange the shrimp (see photo) in one layer over the tomato mixture in the skillet. Scatter the feta evenly over the shrimp. Then sprinkle the bread crumb mixture over the shrimp.

Bake in 400 degree oven for app. 15 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and the bread crumbs are golden brown. (you can cut into a shrimp and make sure it’s opaque at this time)

Remove from oven and squeeze the juice of 1 lemon (I used zested lemon) over the shrimp. Serve hot with the remaining lemon cut into wedges.