Baked Greek Shrimp with Tomatoes & Feta

My people. My siblings, relatives, closest friends and of course my BF—they are my people. The people that bring me up and make me feel my very best self. God, how I love them! My siblings and relatives live in Oregon, Boston, Chicago-area and as far away as Thailand, and when any one of them visit, it's a big deal. So when my brother and sister visit, as they did this past June, it feels like all the holidays rolled into one. It's that special.

We had so much fun: doing the mundane (which I miss the most), to my sister replanting my garden and landscaping our yard, and my brother sharpening all my knives, assisting as my sous chef, and carrying robust discussions with my BF. We spent an afternoon in San Francisco walking, er, grazing: Humphry Slocombe ice cream, Hog Island Oyster Bar, Ferry Building, Ghirardelli Square, walk-away shrimp cocktail at Fisherman's Wharf, coffee at Blue Bottle, and Boudins bakery to bring back an amazing chocolate sourdough round for my BF (who was kind enough to keep our anxiety ridden pup company at home). [Ed. Note: Next time I want three.]

On their last night, the kind of bay area summer night we feel spoiled to have, we set the table out on the patio, lit the candles, and flipped on the string lights. I made this beautiful Baked Greek Shrimp with Tomatoes & Feta and served it with Semifreddi's Sour Batard, olives, and a green salad. The only change I made to the Once Upon a Chef recipe was to add chopped fennel, which goes well with Greek flavors and shrimp (and my brother really likes fennel). Dinner was on the table in 45 minutes—easy enough to prepare for a weeknight, special enough for a good-bye dinner, and it's a healthy one-pan meal that works any time of year.

Adapted from: Once Upon a Chef
Number of servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin oive oil
• ¾ cup finely chopped shallots, from about 3 shallots
• 1 fennel bulb, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ¼ teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 ½ pounds extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 6 ounces feta cheese
• ¾  teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 °F, set one oven rack in the middle position and another about 5 inches underneath the broiler.
2. Heat olive oil in a wide oven-proof skillet (see note) over medium low heat. Add shallots, fennel, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not brown.
3. Add tomatoes with their juices, salt, pepper, cumin, red pepper flakes and honey. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, 15 to 20 minutes.
4. Take skillet off the heat and arrange shrimp over the tomato sauce in an even layer. Crumble feta over the shrimp and then sprinkle with oregano.
5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until shrimp are pink and just cooked (cooking time will depend on size of the shrimp). Turn on broiler. Using an oven mitt, carefully transer the pan to the higher oven rack and broil for 1 to 2 minutes, or until feta is golden brown in spots.
6. Using an oven mitt, remove the pan from the oven. Immediately place the oven mitt or a dishtowel over the handle of the skillet because it's very easy to forget that it's burning hot (have scars to prove it).
7. Let shrimp rest for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with mint and serve.
8. NOTE: if you do not have an oven-proof skillet, simply transfer the tomato sauce to a 9-by-13 inch or equivalent baking dish and proceed from there.