Pretentious Hurdles

I can't tell if I've been busy or lazy. Or maybe both. My cooking seems to have gone down the tubes, but occasionally I'm still able to throw together a meal. Lately I've been into cooking (when I actually cook) super fast dishes that take little to no prep time. As long as I have onions and garlic, I feel like I can come up with something.

Fortunately I found shrimp in the freezer and tomatoes in the cupboard so all I needed was some feta and dill to finish this recipe off. I've often come across versions of this recipe in Greek restaurants and happily discovered that it's quite simple to assemble. In fact, the most difficult hurdle for me was figuring out how to cook my fancy Israeli couscous that had no cooking directions on the package. I guess the message here is that if you're paying top dollar for an imported product, you should know what you're doing. Who knew that grocery items could be pretentious?



Shrimp With Tomatoes and Feta

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14.5-ounce) can of diced tomatoes, with juices
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh dill
1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Cooked couscous, orzo, or rice, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Heat the oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

2. Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 5 minutes, until the tomato juices thicken slightly.

3. Remove the skillet from the heat. Stir in the dill and shrimp and season with the salt and pepper. Sprinkle the feta over the top. Bake until the shrimp are cooked through and the cheese is melted, about 12 minutes. Serve over couscous (or orzo or rice), if desired. Serves 2.