Shrimp Santorini
Allegedly, a recipe from a restaurant on the Greek island of Santorini, it came to Kitchen Tapestry through Chicago.
Santorini is an Island under Greek control in the Aegean Sea, which separates the mainland of Greece from Turkey. The island was home to what archeologists are learning was a remarkably advanced civilization, called the Minoans, who were literally blown off the face of the Earth in one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history, around 1600 BC. Many historians believe it is the basis for the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Today, the island is a shadow of its former self, mostly a water filled caldera. But it does thrive with an active trade of tourism which of course means it has lots of restaurants.
This recipe supposedly came from one of the Island's restaurants, and whether that's actually true or not, it is a very Greek way to prepare a dish - fresh seafood, just a handful of fresh ingredients, finished with lemon and feta cheese, and served over rice.
One of my former co-workers actually shared this recipe with me, originally posted on allrecipes.com by a Chicago denizen after she made this dish with her sister. She says she ate the dish in Santorini, but didn't say where. In another source, a professional chef with a website called mysweetgreek.com sites the recipe, but says in Santorini, the dish is actually called Shrimp Saganaki and that any number of restaurants on the Island have their version of this dish.
Regardless of its source and the veracity of its authenticity, it is an easy dish to make ahead of time, throwing everything together at the last minute in a casserole dish, and baking for an hour. And it does taste, indeed, deliciously Mediterranean.
Shrimp Santorini
Ingredients
- 1/2 stick butter
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 pints grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 cups dry white wine
- 2 lbs peeled, de-veined medium shrimp
- 4 oz crumbled feta cheese
- juice from two fresh lemons
- 4 cups white, Jasmine or Basmati rice, cooked
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Stir in the garlic and parsley, and sauté for a minute.
- Add the tomatoes and sauté for a minute more. Then add the white wine.
- Bring the ingredients to a simmer, turn the heat down to medium low and cook gently for 30 minutes or so until the sauce has reduced a bit and slightly thickened.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Stir the shrimp into the sauce and cook for just 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and pour the mixture into a shallow casserole dish, then sprinkle the feta cheese on top.
- Bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Squeeze the two fresh lemons over the dish before serving over rice.
Notes
- Frozen shrimp thaw very quickly in a colander under cold running water, turning and tossing the shrimp frequently to get its cold water shower.
- Do this about 30 minutes prior to cooking, then wrap the shrimp in paper towels and put in the refrigerator to dry out before using.
