Thursday, January 21, 2010

Orzo with Shrimp and Tomatoes

Having tried a few new recipes that were less than stellar (sorry, Rick Bayless, your tortilla soup did not make the cut), I made an old forgotten favorite from the Sofi cookbook last night that reminded me of why I do these posts....great food fairly quickly, and generally not too bad for your waistline.  You can even use the peeled raw frozen shrimp in a bag to make less work for yourself.

3 T olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped*
1 T fresh basil or 1/2 t dried if it is winter
2 T dry white wine
salt and pepper
bag o' shrimp, raw and peeled (tails on are ok)
3 oz feta...best quality you can get (bit under a cup)
1 lb orzo (yes, they have it at the market...Barilla makes a decent one)

Put a big pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil.  Dump in the orzo and set the timer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saute pan over med  heat and, when hot, add the garlic.  Stir quickly and try not to let it brown.  Add tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes.  Raise heat to med high and add basil, wine, salt and pepper to taste and shrimp.  Simmer for approximately 5 minutes until the shrimp turn pink.  Add the feta.

Drain the pasta and put back in the pot.  Add the shrimp and tomato mixture and stir over med heat for a couple of minutes and then serve.

*to peel tomatoes, cut an "x" in the bottom of the tomato and put in a small pot of boiling water...cook for a minute and then put tomato in ice water to stop it from cooking.  Peel the skin right off of it!

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