Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I hear angels singing-Orzo Salad with Shrimp and Feta
When I first moved to Southern California there were a few things that I was enthralled about and that I quickly had to learn about. The first being sprinklers. We didn't have sprinklers in Nor Cal because nature watered our lawn and so when I moved here I was amazed by the fact that people had to program "nature" to water their lawns. Therefore I needed a tutorial on how sprinklers worked, were programmed and the optimum time for them to be activated. I also learned about restaurant ratings systems. No, I am not talking about Michelin Stars or anything as high class as that. I am talking about the cleanliness ratings on the outside of restaurants, from health inspections. I loved that at a glance I could decide if I wanted to eat at a restaurant or if I would get a communicable disease just by walking through the door. In Humboldt County we just didn't have those...yeah I know what you are thinking and yes all of it is true.
Since I started cooking so regularly I decided I needed my own rating scale, however mine is not based on cleanliness it is based on my love of the recipe. It has 4 ratings:
1-Never again am I making this and its going straight into the garbage
2-It's edible however you will never see this again
3-This is pretty good and if someone specifically requests to see this again I will track down the recipe (although it may take awhile to find the recipe in my 700 cookbook collection)
4-I hear angels singing when I put this food in my mouth and I am pretty close to an orgasm happy
However, since I mentioned Michelin Stars, did you know?
This recipe is a 4 in my book!! This is truly one of the best recipes I have found in a long while. I love the broiled shrimp with the garlic and olive oil. I love dill!!! And I love the saltiness of the feta cheese. Then you through pasta in there and its pretty much double happiness in my book.
However, of course I did modify it a bit. The recipe called for a 1/2 lb of shrimp, however I went to the grocery store after the gym and the seafood counter was closed so I had to buy frozen shrimp...not my favorite but it worked. However, the frozen shrimp came in a 1lb bag so I decided to cook the whole bag and add extra shrimp and it was tasty...added protein too, right? When I make this again I will make an effort to get fresh shrimp, however for this recipe to still be so tasty with frozen shrimp says a lot about the flavors.
I also couldn't find mint, but I am not a die hard mint fan unless its in a mojito so I left it out and honestly I love dill so the dill alone was perfect for me. And seriously I really love dill!!! And yes it took me 8 attempts to take this picture of this dill.
So the shrimp is cooked in the broiler. Add olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and broil 2-3 minutes. I cooked it for a little longer but this is the first time I used my broiler so I don't know if the recipe was inaccurate or if my broiler just takes a little extra time. My recommendation is to watch it closely because seriously no one wants chewy rubbery shrimp.
Cook the orzo pasta while you cook the shrimp. And once the shrimp are done add the lemon zest, lemon juice, scallions, mint (if you use it), dill, cucumber, feta, olives and olive oil in a bowl. Once the pasta is done throw that in the bowl as well and either serve immediately slightly warm or cool in the
fridge.
I tried this recipe last night warm and I also had it leftover for lunch today and I truly liked it both ways.
Since I started cooking so regularly I decided I needed my own rating scale, however mine is not based on cleanliness it is based on my love of the recipe. It has 4 ratings:
1-Never again am I making this and its going straight into the garbage
2-It's edible however you will never see this again
3-This is pretty good and if someone specifically requests to see this again I will track down the recipe (although it may take awhile to find the recipe in my 700 cookbook collection)
4-I hear angels singing when I put this food in my mouth and I am pretty close to an orgasm happy
However, since I mentioned Michelin Stars, did you know?
- Michelin ratings started in 1933 in France
- The highest ranking for a Michelin star is a 3 and the lowest is 1 (duh, right?)
- There are only 81 restaurants world wide with a 3 star ratings, which indicates this restaurant is "exceptional cuisine, worthy of a special journey."
- Michelin raters are completely anonymous
This recipe is a 4 in my book!! This is truly one of the best recipes I have found in a long while. I love the broiled shrimp with the garlic and olive oil. I love dill!!! And I love the saltiness of the feta cheese. Then you through pasta in there and its pretty much double happiness in my book.
However, of course I did modify it a bit. The recipe called for a 1/2 lb of shrimp, however I went to the grocery store after the gym and the seafood counter was closed so I had to buy frozen shrimp...not my favorite but it worked. However, the frozen shrimp came in a 1lb bag so I decided to cook the whole bag and add extra shrimp and it was tasty...added protein too, right? When I make this again I will make an effort to get fresh shrimp, however for this recipe to still be so tasty with frozen shrimp says a lot about the flavors.
So the shrimp is cooked in the broiler. Add olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper and broil 2-3 minutes. I cooked it for a little longer but this is the first time I used my broiler so I don't know if the recipe was inaccurate or if my broiler just takes a little extra time. My recommendation is to watch it closely because seriously no one wants chewy rubbery shrimp.
Cook the orzo pasta while you cook the shrimp. And once the shrimp are done add the lemon zest, lemon juice, scallions, mint (if you use it), dill, cucumber, feta, olives and olive oil in a bowl. Once the pasta is done throw that in the bowl as well and either serve immediately slightly warm or cool in the
fridge.
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 8 ounces orzo pasta (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails removed), coarsely chopped
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Freshly ground pepper
- Grated zest of 2 lemons, plus 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1 cup diced English cucumber
- 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
- 3 tablespoons halved kalamata olives
Directions
Preheat the broiler. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente (about 2 minutes less than the label directs). Drain and rinse under cool water; shake off the excess. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside while you make the shrimp, stirring occasionally to prevent clumping.
Toss the shrimp on a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon olive oil, the garlic, and salt and pepper to taste; arrange in a single layer. Broil the shrimp, turning once, until opaque and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the shrimp, lemon zest and juice, scallions, mint, dill, cucumber, feta, olives and the remaining 1/3 cup olive oil to the bowl with the pasta; toss. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, up to 6 hours. (Bring to room temperature before serving.)
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