The Last Recipe Post of 2005: Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Orzo

This was really, really good. I half remembered making something with shrimp and orzo and feta before but I’m pretty sure I baked that in the oven. So, I kind of threw this together based on other recipes I’ve seen before and what I had on hand. The garlicky, lemony wine sauce is amazing tasty! jwa brought the leftovers to work for lunch Thursday and I almost tried to steal them from him, as I really liked this dish. But, I didn’t — I am too nice.

Spicy Lemon Garlic Shrimp with Orzo:
1 1/2 cups uncooked orzo
1 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic
1/2 onion, sliced
1 yellow pepper, julienned
3/4 of a pound raw shrimp, cleaned and deveined (the first time I typed this out I wrote “3/4 of a pond” and I almost left it because it was pretty funny)
juice and zest of 1 lemon
1 cup dry white wine
a pinch of red pepper flakes
3 tbsp unsalted butter
8 basil leaves, cut in long strips
1/3 cup feta
salt
lemon pepper

Cook orzo according to package. Drain, toss with olive oil, and add salt and pepper (lemon pepper works well if you have some) to taste.

Cover and keep warm with foil. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet. Add onion and pepper — cook until soft.

Remove and place atop cooked orzo. Recover with foil. Add garlic and shrimp to pan. If the pan is very dry, add a bit more olive oil. Sprinkle shrimp with salt. Cook for two minutes, turn shrimp over and put the lid on pan. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, until shrimp opaque.

Remove shrimp from pan and keep warm on top of veggies and orzo.

There should be all kinds of tasty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Return it to heat and add the lemon juice and wine. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and reduce by half, about 4 minutes. Stir in butter, red pepper flakes and lemon zest. Adjust salt & pepper if needed.

Pour lemon butter sauce over shrimp and orzo. Top with feta crumbles and basil. We had this with some sautéed green beans and it was excellent!

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Je Mange la Ville is going on holiday hiatus until 1/1/06. I will be out of town in California, no doubt eating at tasty places and taking pictures of it all. It’s possible I could post while gone but let’s not hold our collective breath.

I hope everyone has a happy holiday and eats all kinds of wonderful meals!