Greek Shrimp and Orzo
A wonderful little piece of advice that our wine experts love to share is: what grows together goes together—meaning that wines pair magically well with regional ingredients that grow in the same soils. We reached out to winemaker friends a regional dish that is a natural pairing with their wines. Angeliki Iatridou offered us a beautiful orzo and shrimp recipe to pair with their unique wines that grow in the Amyndeon region of Greece
Photos by Ian McCausland
500 g shrimp, with shells on
4 cups water
2 bay leaves
1 onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, split
1 pinch granulated sugar
250 g dry orzo pasta
2 tbsp tomato paste
100 g cherry tomatoes, de-stemmed and halved
1.5 oz ouzo
Salt and pepper
1/2 lemon, juiced
150 g feta cheese, cubed
2 cups arugula
Lemon wedges
Pita bread
Remove the shells and tails from the shrimp. Place the shells in a pot with 4 cups of water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes. Remove the shrimp shells and bay leaves from the water—discarding the shells but preserving the shrimp stock.
Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add sugar and stir into the onion and garlic mixture for 2 minutes.
Add the orzo and sauté it for another 2 minutes.
Add the tomato paste and sauté for a moment before adding the cherry tomatoes. Deglaze the pan with ouzo, and once evaporated, add the shrimp stock. Add salt and pepper, and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for 10–12 minutes, until the orzo is ready.
While orzo is cooking, heat a frying pan over high heat until it is very hot. Toss shrimp in 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper and place in the frying pan, searing them for 1 minute each side. Right before you remove the pan from the element, deglaze with lemon juice. Add the shrimp and lemon juice to the orzo, remove from heat, and stir in cubed feta and arugula. Finish with olive oil and serve with lemon wedges and pita bread.
SHOP LOCAL: We bought our shrimp at Gimli’s Fish Market and finished the pasta with Frescolio‘s Milanese Gremolata extra virgin olive oil.
PAIR WITH:
Alpha Estate Hedgehog Vineyard Rosé Amyndeon, Greece
Alpha Estate Turtles Vineyard Malagouzia Amyndeon, Greece
Alpha Estate Hedgehog Vineyard Xinomavro Amyndeon, Greece
