feta-rific!

Earlier this month, when we were in Portugal, we became familiar with these terracotta cooking plates. We first encountered the plates at this little beach front restaurant that served killer garlic prawns. The prawns came sizzling to our table in these hot terracotta plates - we were all very intrigued. We later found out that these plates were cooked directly on the stove, although it could easily be used in the oven as well. We decided, then and there, to seek out these amazing cooking vessels and bring home a little taste of Portugal.

We did end up bringing 2 of these terracotta plates home and ever since then, I've been dying to get the opportunity to use them. I was a bit afraid to use them on my glass stove (it has a rough bottom) although I knew that the oven would be just as good. However, since we've been having some crazy hot weather in Montreal, I decided to try making something with it on the bbq.

I knew I wanted to do something with shrimp since the cooking time would be shorter...and I also knew that I wanted dinner to have a Greek flare. We sort of made up the recipe as we went along (that's half the fun, isn't it?) and it turned out really well, and super easy to boot. To those of you that are not lucky enough to own terracotta plates, this recipe could easily be adapted to be made in the oven in a regular casserole dish. Give it a try...it's easy, healthy, and delicious.

Greek Shrimp

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tomatoes, diced
1 Onion, sliced
3 Garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 lbs Shrimp, peeled (tails remaining)
Crumbled Feta
Oregano
Salt & Pepper
Parsley
Lemon wedge

Sautee garlic in olive oil until fragrant. Add sliced onions and brown until slightly caramelized. Add chopped tomatoes along with mushrooms; cook till soft and tender. Season to taste. Add shrimp to pan and sprinkle with crumbled feta. (If using oven method, put pan in oven until shrimp is cooked - about 10 minutes) Once the shrimp is cooked and the feta slightly melted, add the final touches of parsley and a squeeze of lemon.
Enjoy over rice or with a crusty loaf of bread.