Shazam! Shrimp With Mediterranean Orzo

Pot Scrubber's Note:

"SHAZAM! this shrimp is good!" is what one dinner guest said when I served this at a small dinner party to test this recipe. This is created for a romantic dinner for two. Easy prep that can be done ahead of time and the smell of the flash pan-seared shrimp will drive your dinner companion wild. Created for RSC #7. ETA- I designed this dish to be SIMPLE to make for inexperienced cooks. You could certainly make it much more gourmet by roasting the peppers and using fresh tomatoes and herbs. It won't hurt my feelings.

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 2

Yield: 2.0 plates ...

• 1 lb very large shrimp (fresh or frozen 13-15 ct. per pound, deveined and shelled with tails intact)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning (or 1/2 TSP each dried oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, and sage)
• 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
• 1 cup orzo pasta
• 1 yellow bell pepper (chopped into course chunks)
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 8 kalamata olives (chopped)
• 1 (15 ounce) can whole tomatoes (drained and tomatoes cut in half)
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1/4 cup sherry wine
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
• 1 lime, quartered

Directions:

1. Give your date a peck on the cheek. Repeat as often as necessary.
2. In a bowl toss shrimp, olive oil, Italian seasoning, and garlic and let marinade for thirty minutes.
3. In a sauce pan- bring six cups of water and chicken bouillon powder to a boil.
4. Add chopped yellow bell pepper and one cup of orzo and cook according to package directions until tender then drain.
5. Return drained orzo back to sauce pan and fold in capers, olives, and cut tomatoes. Cover with lid to keep warm.
6. In a heavy, lightly oiled hot skillet, cook shrimp 2 minutes per side (DO NOT OVER COOK THIS SHRIMP!)and remove shrimp immediately to a plate tented with foil to keep warm.
7. Deglaze pan with chicken stock and sherry and boil until alcohol has evaporated (about 90 seconds or until you can no longer smell the alcohol)Pour this into 2 small ramekins to use as a dipping sauce for some hot buttered crusty French Bread.
8. Divide orzo between 2 plates and top with each with half of the shrimp. Sprinkle with one lime wedge apiece and place another lime wedge on each plate as garnish.
9. Eat until you explode and be prepared for grateful kisses from your date.

Reviews

[DeeCooks]

Excellent and easy! I roast peppers in the summer and freeze them, so I always have some on hand--and that was GOOD. We sprinkled some feta on top. Thanks!

[Chabear01]

This was delicious even though I only had the medium shrimp in the house, and spent more time than I cared to shelling and deveining 1 lb of those....grrrr, not my favorite job anyway. But the orzo was really tasty, and the shrimp were great too. Would make this again, but next time...gonna take the time to run to the Seafood Market for the larger shrimp.

[Cookgirl]

My hubby loved this because shrimp is his favorite food in the world. I subbed fresh vegie stock for the bouillon powder, used a combo of red and yellow peppers roasted, used fresh toms and fresh herbs. I added the bell peppers to the dish last minute. Don't care for bell peppers cooked for long periods of time. Good directions for giving your mate a peck on your cheek BEFORE eating the shrimp.