Magazine Monday #13: Greek-spiced Baked Shrimp

Last week, my copy of Gourmet's November issue arrived in my mailbox, and I was delighted to find it chock-full of recipes that I really want to try. Today's Magazine Monday submission is one of those recipes. The recipe has yet to be posted on the Epicurious web site, so here it is.

Greek-spiced Baked Shrimp, Gourmet November 2008

1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 28oz can whole tomatoes in juice, chopped, juice reserved (cripes, just used diced!)
pinch of sugar
1 1/4 lb large peeled and deveined shrimp
1/4 lb feta cheese, crumbled (about 2/3 cup)
2 tbsp chopped dill

1. Preheat oven to 375F and put rack in the middle.

2. Cook onion and garlic in oil with 1/4 tsp salt in a medium heavy saucepan over medium heat until soft - about 5 minutes. Stir in spices and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomatoes with juice and sugar; simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened - about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

3. Season shrimp with some salt & pepper, then add them to the tomato mixture. Transfer to a 2-qt shallow baking dish and top with feta. Bake until just cooked through, 18 - 20 minutes. Serve sprinkled with dill.

OK, great recipe, very tasty, quick, and not bad for you. I will admit I didn't follow the instructions to the letter, though. I didn't bake this because I didn't have enough shrimp and thus I had a much soupier mixture that wouldn't have baked up very well. So, I turned this into a sort of stew, served over rice. I added the feta as a garnish. I also didn't use the hot pepper flakes as I don't like them. But, this is a delicious dish and it worked very well for me despite my changes.