Description
Not kidding when I say this came out like a top-quality restaurant dish…I didn’t have canned diced tomatoes so I used whole stewed San Marzano tomatoes, then diced them up. I think that made it extra good! In my opinion, the San Marzanos are better than any other kind of canned tomatoes, and I always use them if I can, but use whatever you have, it will still come out great I bet!
Ingredients
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- 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup finely diced shallots
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped (fresh is much better than jarred if you have it) (*see note)
- 1 (28 oz.) can San Marzano stewed whole tomatoes (*see note) or any brand, diced.
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (skip if the kiddos don’t like the heat, but this really adds an awesome kick!)
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 lbs. large shrimp, peeled & deveined, raw (about 25-30 pieces), thawed if frozen
- 6 oz feta cheese (that’s usually one whole container)
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 3 Tbsp. chopped mint (optional for garnish, looks pretty too!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Heat the 3 Tbsp. olive oil in large oven-proof skillet. I used a big cast iron. You will be transferring the whole skillet to the oven later for baking and broiling. Add the 3/4 cup diced shallots and 4 chopped garlic cloves. Sauté until tender about 5-7 minutes.
- Chop the whole diced tomatoes with their juices and add to skillet. I used a square baking dish to do this without too much mess; or if using pre-diced, just add to skillet with their juices and add the 1 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp.pepper, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes and 1 Tbsp. honey.
- Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, which will thicken the sauce. Stir frequently. In my cast iron pan, the sauce will start sticking to the bottom if you don’t stir every few minutes.
- Take pan off the oven and arrange the shrimp on top of the thickened sauce. Sprinkle with the whole 6 oz container of feta and the oregano. Pop in hot 400 degree oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, just until the shrimp turn pink. The baking time depends on the size of your shrimp so just keep and eye. I used frozen Red Argentinean shrimp which are already red/pinkish raw so that makes it a little tricky!
- After baking, turn on the broiler, and broil the whole pan for 2-3 minutes to brown the feta cheese…this step is what takes it from a great home cooked dish to a restaurant-quality one, so don’t skip this!
- Take out of oven (with an oven mit, the pan handle will be burning hot!), sprinkle with mint and serve right in the pan!
- Eat it plain or spoon it over white or brown rice, noodles or mashed potatoes like we did. It is great leftover and the next night I put it over angel hair pasta and that was delightful too!
Enjoy!!
Notes
- I buy a large bag of peeled garlic cloves (from Costco) and just take out how ever many I need for a recipe. They thaw in minutes and are easier to dice up when frozen.
- True San Marzano tomatoes are super yummy because they come from a special region in Italy near Mt. Vesuvius where the volcanic soils are said to produce sweeter, less acidic tomatoes. Also, they are guaranteed to not be genetically modified (GMOs), which I’m not a fan of personally. Be careful though, technically anyone can say “San Marzano” even if grown in California or elsewhere as long at is the same variety. I use the CENTO brand which is from Italy. Just look for the CENTO brand or “Product of Italy” on the label. They are pretty easy to find at most major grocery store chains.
