Category: Seafood

I’m always looking for quick and easy weeknight recipes. Both the hubby and I work full-time, sometimes more than full-time, and either go to the gym or play some sort of sport almost every day of the week. As much as I love cooking and baking, it’s impossible for me to plan anything too ambitious for dinner with such a schedule. However, that doesn’t mean that I want dinner to be boring. I still want our dinners to be flavorful and different. This roasted shrimp recipe definitely satisfied those requirements. Ready in about 30 minutes, this shrimp recipe is packed with flavor from the oregano, tomatoes, and feta.

Serve with lemon slices, for a bit of freshness. I served it for dinner over rice, but this would also be phenomenal served over grilled slices of bread.

Roasted Shrimp with Feta (and Tomatoes)

Adapted from the Barefoot Contessa,  How Easy Is That? (p. 146-7)

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 Tbs. good olive oil, divided
• 1 Tbs. (3 cloves) minced garlic
• 1/4 c. dry white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 14-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 2 tsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 1/4 lbs. jumbo shrimp (16-20 shrimp per pound), peeled and deveined (I remove the tails as well, but you can leave them on)
• 5 oz. feta cheese, coarsely crumbled
• 1 c. plain bread crumbs
• 3 Tbs. fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
• 2 lemons (for serving, optional)

Lighten It Up: Use a little less feta cheese and half the amount of bread crumb topping.

In a large oven-proof skillet over medium heat, heat 2 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add wine/chicken broth, cooking 2-3 minutes, until reduced by half. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook, simmering for 10-15 minutes until thickened slightly.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 and in a small bowl, mix remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil, bread crumbs, parsley, and lemon zest. Set aside.

Turn off heat and layer shrimp, in a circle with tails up, over the tomatoes. Sprinkle feta and bread crumb mixture evenly over shrimp. Finish cooking in oven for about 15 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through and bread crumbs are golden brown.

Serve with slices of lemon.

Every other year, my husband’s extended family all come home for the Christmas holidays. It’s an awesome time, with 50 of the clan in town to celebrate Christmas and catch up with each other. This past year, a couple of us were hanging around the table, talking about our favorite meals to make, favorite new ingredients, etc. It’s a fun conversation, since my hubby’s family is all from the south, and I grew up in New England, so our favorite meals are pretty different. Anyway, I was telling everyone how I really love cardamom, but it’s not used in many of my recipes – my mom and I discovered it when we made a cranberry-pear tart one year. Ever since then, I’ve been seeking out new recipes to test out this spice. Renner, the soon-to-be newest addition to the family, was telling me about this baked tilapia recipe he makes using cardamom. First I heard of it – I had to have the recipe. Well, Renner apparently cooks like I do – he must do a little of this, and a little of that, because in lieu of a recipe, I got a list of ingredients (Thanks Renner!) The first time I made the tilapia, I measured, using the below proportions (skipping the fresh rosemary just because I didn’t have any in the house). Ever since then (and I have been making this weekly since we tried it out), I throw on a little of everything until I’m satisfied. This recipe has become a hit in our house – hubby and I both love the fresh basil, the slightly crunchy Parmesan, and the smoky hint of the cardamom. Quick and easy, this is has become one of our regular weeknight dinner. Enjoy!

Renner’s Tilapia with Cardamom & Basil

Yields 3 filets (2-3 servings)

Ingredients:

• 3 tilapia filets
• olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. cardamom
• 3 Tbs. minced fresh basil
• 3 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

Set tilapia filets on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Drizzle with a little olive oil and rub in.

Combine salt, pepper, and cardamom in a small bowl. Sprinkle on tilapia.

Combine basil and Parmesan in a small bowl. Sprinkle on tilapia.

Bake 15-20 minutes, or until tilapia is cooked through. For a slightly crispier coating, broil for last 3 minutes of cooking.

This month’s Barefoot Blogger’s recipe was chosen by Jill of Insanely Good Food.  And what did Jill chose? She chose the Barefoot Contessa’s Baked Shrimp Scampi, a tasty and easy dish that has become a new staple recipe in my house. I had made this recipe a couple months ago (blogged here) but wanted to take a minute to once again, encourage you to try it. I skip the butterflying and arranging to make it even easier – I buy the frozen peeled and deveined shrimp. Simply defrost, remove the tails, marinade and make the crumbly topping, and bake. A super easy and flavorful weeknight meal. Serve over pasta or rice.