Highbrow Freezer Meal: Quick And Easy Baked Shrimp With Feta And Jammy Tomatoes

Cassandra Wardrope is STYLE Canada‘s resident recipe developer and micro-blogger over @tomato__tomatoe. She’s passionate about storytelling through globally inspired cooking and travel, and on style.ca, she helps guide you through a wealth of food knowledge, how-tos, and last minute meals, as well as quick and easy weeknight recipes (like the incredible Baked Shrimp with Feta and Jammy Tomatoes below!). Cassandra has a special talent for making even the most decadent recipes taste just as good with healthier ingredients, and her real-life food photography will have you drooling over every. single. dish. Bon appétit!

While practicing social distancing during the health pandemic spreading across our provinces and territories, I’ve been trying to get more creative when developing recipes. It’s apparent that many people are feeling uninspired when it comes to pantry and freezer cooking, though it doesn’t have to be complicated. Use what you have on hand. That’s why I love this quick and easy Baked Shrimp with Feta and Jammy Tomatoes recipe – it’s nice and light on the stomach, perfect for spring, and uses up what you have in the pantry. Plus, it takes almost no time to put together. Talk about at #highbrowfreezermeal at its finest.

If you don’t have a bag of shrimp in your freezer, you can easily substitute the seafood with chicken, cannellini beans for a delicious vegetarian option, or any other protein you have on hand. Using your imagination to come up with something tasty is what cooking in self-isolation should be all about, right?

Now, throw on your apron and get to making some Baked Shrimp with Feta and Jammy Tomatoes for dinner tonight!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B97FjScpUkV/

Ingredients for the tomato sauce: 

1 white onion, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

Fresh or dried basil (5 to 6 sprigs if you have fresh or 1 tsp dried basil)

1 tsp. dried oregano

3 tbsp. tomato paste

1 parmesan cheese rind (If you don’t have one in your fridge, don’t worry about it. Though this ingredient adds a nice umami flavour to the dish, it’s not necessary. Be sure to save your parmesan rinds from now on! They’re great to use in a soup or a sauce.)

1 can of San Marzano tomatoes (If you have another kind of canned tomatoes in your pantry, they’ll work too!)

Salt and pepper to taste

Add-ins: 

1 pack of frozen raw shrimp, thawed

1 green onion, chopped

½ cup of feta cheese, crumbled

4 sprigs of fresh dill or any other fresh herb

Directions

1. Heat a heavy bottomed pot like a Dutch oven to medium-low heat. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
2. Add the chopped onions and cook for about five minutes until they’re translucent.
3. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Cook for about two or three minutes until fragrant.
4. Soften the can crushed tomatoes and then add to the pot. Rinse out the can with water and add that to the sauce as well.
5. Add in the basil and oregano, then season with salt and pepper.
6. Add in the parmesan rind and bring the pot to a boil with the lid on. Once the sauce comes to a roaring bubble, turn the heat down to low and simmer for one hour. Once the hour is up, remove the lid. Turn off the heat and preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
7. Take a cast iron pan (or any oven-safe pan) and coat the surface with two or three ladles of sauce. Arrange the shrimp and season with salt and pepper, then ladle more sauce on top to cover the shrimp.
8. Sprinkle the feta cheese over everything and bake in the oven for 15 minutes (or until the shrimp is pink, cooked through, and the feta is golden).
9. Garnish with green onion and dill.