Mediterranean Summer Breeze Shrimp Appetizer

Skipper/Sy's Note:

You and your friend have been Island hopping around the Mediterranean and are now visiting the beautiful Greek Island of Mykonos. You have spent a good part of the day walking around the village, photographing windmills, white-washed houses, people, the shoreline… checking out gift shops…. it was a very hot day! So now in the late afternoon you are sitting at a quaint outdoor café overlooking the bay, watching the sail boats go by…the summer breeze is so nice. In the far distance you can hear the tune of "The Lemon Tree" song. A mouth watering tasty shrimp appetizer with lemon and hot spices is just what you have been craving for. You place your order and then you and your friend start singing; "Lemon tree, very pretty and the lemon flower is sweet, but the fruit of the poor lemon is impossible to eat…". Enjoy!

• Total Time: 45 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• ¾ lb large shrimp , shell and tail removed, deveined, cut lengthwise slightly (12 pieces)
• ½ teaspoon salt (or less optional)
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 6 garlic cloves , chopped finely
• ½ cup chopped tomato , chopped finely
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper (peppercorns ground fine)
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less optional)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 4 tablespoons kalamata olives , pits removed and coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 4 tablespoons feta cheese , crumbled
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon ouzo (optional)
• 2 lemons , cut up into wedges

Directions:

1. Place cleaned shrimp in a mixing bowl, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, vinegar and toss.
2. Make a spice mixture of; 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, ground cumin, tarragon, 1 tablespoon of oregano; set aside.
3. On individual plates place some chopped up olives, capers, crumbled feta cheese and lemon wedges on the side.
4. Place 3 tablespoons olive oil in a pan, when slightly hot add garlic and chopped tomatoes; Stir for about 30 seconds until garlic smell is released.
5. Add shrimp to pan, sprinkle on top of each shrimp part of the spice mixture; When shrimps starts to turn pink, turn them over (only once) and fry second side; add the balance of spice mixture to the top of the shrimp; put some of the garlic/tomato from the pan on top as well; When shrimp on second side appears pink, sprinkle with a generous amount of dry oregano on each shrimp. Place shrimp on top of chopped olives, capers, feta cheese in individual plates.
6. From the pan scrap up the tomatoes and spices (add 1-2 tablespoons of water to make it moist). Then add on top and on sides of the shrimps.
7. Add some lemon juice to each shrimp and a very tiny amount of ouzo(option).
8. Serve and enjoy!
9. Note:.
10. a) MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT OVERCOOK THE SHRIMP!
11. b) This recipe was submitted for the RSC#7 contest. I want to thank everyone for their reviews. I have since then modified the recipe to reflect people's comments, for a better recipe!

Reviews

[Elly in Canada]

Updated review from RSC #7. I prepared the revised version of the recipe, using 1 pound of shrimp, 2 teaspoons of oregano (rubbed to a fine powder)and did not use any salt or ouzo (changes are my personal choice). Much improved Skipper/Sy!!

[TOOLBELT DIVA]

Chef, you have the makings of a very tasty appetizer. Salt could be reduced to one-half the measure. A more subtle use of cayenne might not be so overpowering; in that the cayenne masked other flavours, and produced a very hot shrimp appetizer. I note that you included tarragon in your list of ingredients, but neglected to instruct us how and when to use this herb in the recipe. Because this is a contest entry, Chef, that omission is taken into account during this review.

[Tiggrr]

Too much cayenne for me. In fact I think that there was too much of the whole spice blend. If I made this again I would half all of the herbs & spices and there would probably be plenty for the shrimp while not overpowering it. With the feta being salty as it is I would probably also omit the salt from the spice blend all together.