Shrimp Saganaki, a slice of garlic bread, and a salad contributed by MT. We loved it all.
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
It’s the latest in test cook’s ‘marathon’ of Greek dishes
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The ingredients for Shrimp Saganaki. While the feta is the obvious link to Greek flavors, everything else blended in a way that made this pleasantly distinct. Note I opted to use white wine instead of ouzo. While I enjoy the anise flavor of Ouzo, I knew MT and her mom would not.
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
This Shrimp Saganaki recipe has the advantage of using a single skillet, mostly on the stove top with a few minutes under a broiler, which adds a lot by both melting and browning some of the cheese
Mark Guydish | for Times Leader
Greece loomed large in my education.
I grew up being taught Spartans were the toughest soldiers of their time (exemplified at Thermopylae), Athens birthed democracy (sort of), and Marathon was a battle site long before it became an endurance race. Lysistrata remains a relevant play, Achilles had a hinky heel, and when hiking uphill I still joke about how it proves the Icarus myth because the closer we get to the sun, the hotter we feel (for the record, I know correlation does not prove causation).
In college I came to appreciate the value of the Socratic method — and the danger of a certain Hemlock unrelated to the tree; MT has brewed hemlock tea (the non-poisonous kind) on outdoor excursions. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave cleverly cautions about the failure to look beyond first perceptions. And for a time, Aristotle’s orderly reasoning gave me needed understanding and focus.
But food from Greece? All four grandparents were of immediate Slovak descent. Mom made a lot of Eastern European-based dishes, with doses of Italian, German and good old American thrown in. Hellenic cuisine? Pardon the pun, but it was Greek to me.
Over time, my appreciation of Greek dishes developed substantially. MT and I routinely stop at local Greek food festivals, and regular readers may remember my test kitchen capers involving Greek salad with chicken, pastitsio, spanakopita, tiropita, and Greek chicken (via Alabama).
I have no idea how authentic these efforts were, but most proved to be big hits.
I now add Shrimp Saganaki. This version comes from thefoodiephysician.com. I served it as an entree with garlic bread and a salad from MT, and though I doubled the recipe (except for the tomatoes, I used two 14.5 ounce cans), there was little left after four of us had our fill.
MT and her mom (love you, Nanner!) both praised it (MT, not surprisingly to regular readers, noted the garlic accents), but said they would have preferred it over pasta — which is certainly an option. I think it was good as is, provided you have crusty bread to sop up sauce.
Our neighbor Roger agreed, calling it a “refreshing” combo of flavors, saying he definitely felt transported to the Aegean (or was it the Ionian) sea, and taking particular satisfaction in how some of the melted feta blended into the sauce.
As a bonus, this is a one-pan recipe, and if you want to make it even simpler, skip the broiler and just lid the pan on the stove at the end to melt the cheese. Be forewarned: that means no browning of the feta, which I felt added extra flavor.
Why “saganaki”? Several websites say it comes from a two-handled cooking and/or serving dish used in Greek kitchens.
It’s important to point out that, in recipes I reviewed, Ouzo is the alcohol of choice. I like the anise flavor of Ouzo and would have used it if cooking for myself, but MT and her mom aren’t big fans (outside of anise cookies), so I went with a dry white wine, as suggested in the recipe.
I suspect that either way you prepare it, the response in Greek (according to several websites) should be “kalí óreksi!”
Or as we of Slovak ancestry say,
Dobru chut!
Shrimp Saganaki (Greek shrimp) thefoodiephysician.com
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots (or 1 small onion), finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
¼ cup Ouzo (or dry white wine)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 pound large or extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about ¾ cup)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Turn the broiler on high.
In a large oven-safe skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook 1 minute longer until fragrant.
Stir in the tomatoes (along with the liquid from the can), wine or ouzo, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil,then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer uncovered, 8-10 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Add the shrimp to the skillet.
Cook 5-6 minutes until shrimp turn pink, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese.
Place the skillet under the broiler for 2-3 minutes until feta starts to melt and is golden brown in spots.
Sprinkle parsley over the dish. Serve with crusty bread on the side for dipping.
