Last night was a joy. I met a fellow blogger who’s in town for business and she took the time to meet with me over some drinks and lots of cheery banter about food, life and well….more food!
I speak of Courtney from Coco Cooks. Courtney’s smile and charming disposition won me over immediately. Aren’t I a lucky guy? To my left is Courtney aka “Fluffer” and to the right I have her friend Irene. Thanks ladies…I had a wonderful evening and I look forward to showing you Toronto next time.
Now I’m going to show a new Greek dish. New in that it’s not anything you’ll find in an old recipe book you might have bought from the Greek Festival at your local Greek church.
It’s new in that all these ingredients were never brought together until recently. Call it alchemy in the kitchen.
This dish is courtesy of Dina Nikolaou, a popular TV and accomplished chef in Greece. It’s a play on the more standard Shrimp Saganaki but the cheese here is a Greek cream cheese called Katiki Domokou and Saffron is used to provide this dish with a brilliant, orange colour.
Saffron has been cultivated in north-west Macedonia for years. The center of Greece’s Saffron industry is the city of Kozani. For those in Toronto, Alex Farms Cheese sells Saffron from Kozani…just ask the counter staff.
I loved this dish for it’s colour, ease in preparing and the taste. Although both anise seeds and Ouzo give the dish it’s licorice-like character, the slight tartness of the cream cheese comes out and don’t forget shrimp is mildly sweet…a perfect balance to this delicate tasting dish.
Saffron Shrimp
(for 4)
24 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, grated
1/2 cup vegetable or seafood stock 2-4 scallions, finely chopped
1 cup of canned plum tomatoes, finely chopped
1/2 cup Ouzo
1/2 tsp. anise seeds
1/2 tsp. Kozani Saffron
4 Tbsp. cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
- Season your shrimp with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, add your oil and over medium high heat, do a quick saute of your shrimp (while stirring) and as soon as they have changed to pink, remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.
- Into your hot seafood stock, add your Saffron and cover with a lid to retain the heat. Allow the Saffron to “bloom” for at least 10 minutes. Reserve.
- In the same skillet, add the grated onion and simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat. Now add your tomatoes, Saffron stock, anise, Ouzo and simmer for 7-10 minutes or until the the sauce has thickened.
- Add your cream cheese and shrimp and stir to warm through for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper and finally, stir in your chopped scallions.
- Serve with a side of mushroom wild rice.
36 Responses
Whats Up Boner King(I really thought it said Burger King)!Great night. Ire was so surprised we stayed so long! Excellent conversation.I think we found a new Blogger. Now off to see the other half of the Toronto Retail world , grap some Maple syrup,and fly back home. I will be back.
Only you could wear a t shirt like that and get away with it! LOL. Glad to see you enjoyed yourself with the ladies Peter. Now this dish is a medley of flavours! Love the blend of saffron and ouzo. In fact I just saw ouzo served recently as an ice cream flavour.
I love the idea of these flavours together Peter – nice and strong.
Great t-shirt too ;)
It’s wonderful to see a photo of Courtney!
“Boner King”???? LMAO
It’s great to see you both together- the food community is so wonderful- far better than I ever imagined it to be! u boner king u lol!
OMG Peter…I can’t believe you wore that shirt when meeting two women you had never met before.
The shrimp look good.
I was thinking the same thing as Psychgrad. Burger King shirt? TOo funny.
What is ouzo?
Ok, duh- I just realized it said Boner King. Even funnier!!!
I don’t know about that shirt Peter! Thats a pretty bold statement!! You’re too funny, lol. Courtney’s a cutie, looks like you guys had a great time!
Give Peter a break on that shirt, people — he is Greek, after all…
;-)
Seriously, love the dish. Saganaki is one of only two exceptions I make to the prohibition on cheese with seafood. The other is an English codfish and cheddar pie.
So glad that you and Coco had a chance to meet up:D Too bad it wasn’t this weekend and you would have had the chance to be at the beach in TO with a bottle of wine and a BBQ:D
ahhh – cream cheese to smooth it all out
creeeeeam cheeeeese… with anise and ouzo
(sigh…)
ahhh – cream cheese to smooth it all out
creeeeeam cheeeeese… with anise and ouzo
(sigh…)
I think it is always great to meet a fellow blogger.
Love the dish.
I am going to make this for sure as i love acampis.
I am going on a break, so when i come back ou can be sure i will be posting them ;-)
You should know no one is going to pay attention to that dish when you are sporting a shirt like that!
But, I did! Sauce looks scruptious!
And oh, almost forgot, thanks for the tips in your previous post and that halibut looks fab!
How fun to meet up with Courtney! Where did you guys go?
That shrimp looks incredible…I may have to go and hunt out my shrimp guys!
I don’t know what’s funnier – that shirt of yours or the look on the woman eating in the background. that’s very cool you guys met up! coco looks like she’d be fun to hang out with. This dish ain’t too shabby either.
Hey Peter. I can’t believe this is the 1st time I’ve come to your blog. Well, maybe the 1st time I’ve commented. Anyway, I like it, you, and all of your food. I hope to visit more often.
Hmm, anise and saffron; what an interesting combination. I’ll have to try that.
Looks like a good time was had by all. I trust that’s “boner” in the old-fashioned sense of a mistake or goof-up, right? ;P
Courtney, it was a blast having some drinks and confirming you’re just as your blogging persona.
Pete, I know you want a T-shirt…something with “route” in it?
Kittie, the T-short comes in all sizes.
Psych, just injecting a little humour in the night.
Lori, see…the gals only caught on half way thru the night!
Marie, she and her colleague were wonderful company.
Hank, yes, on occasion, cheese with seafood works.
Happy, I’ll be waiting to see the dish when you get back.
Deb, I’m just shaking it up..a bit! lol
Judy, we met at a bar/resto near my home and her hotel.
Never full…you up for drinks some time?
Nikki, welcome and I’m glad you made the discovery.
Ferdzy, of course the ole’ fashioned way!;)
Sounds like you all had a good time!
Peter, this is a meal I’d love to come home to often.
Love the photo of you and your blogger friends – looks like a great night was had by all. The dish you feature looks delicious – and is rather photographic in itself with the lovely rich sauce and colourful rice.
Peter, Peter, Peter. Who knew?? Thanks for sharing!
As for the recipe, it’s really interesting. Did you see it on TV? If so, which channel?
Laurie, Laurie, Laurie…Dina’s one of the contributor’s in Gastronomos…I saw it there and it looked easy enough to try.
Great to read you and coco were able to meet up! Get you Peter in your burger king tee shirt :)
Peter, when I saw that T-Shirt I laughed my ass off! As for the recipe, sounds like a nice combination, I have lots of shrimp and will give it a try this week.
hat dish looks absolutely amazing, what fantastic colours and flavours.
You’re right!! There’s been a trend of food blogger meeting lately. Isn’t it great?
I want THAT T-shirt!!! hahahaha
Wow! I get to see a pic of Courtney AND find your blog at the same time! Toronto’s one of my favorite places in the universe and I love Greek cooking, so I will definitely be back.
Lovely blog!
Hilarious shirt! And how fun that you were able to get together. The dish looks and sounds fabulous, of course!
Cynthia, welcome home!
Cake, I enjoy these dishes that take a detour.
Rosie, I have a collection of goofy T’s like this.
Sam, it turned out well and as for the title…I gave it the same title as the original recipe.
Sylvie, saffron can do that to a dish.
Zen, YOU can’t have it but I’ll buy ya pint.
Jen, I’m glad you like Toronto…it’s a great food city and very multicultural.
Kelly, Courtney was “dam bomb”!
That recipe looks amazing! I’ll be trying it. Great blog – and it’s so good to see you and the lovely ladies having a great time in our fair city.
the shrimp dish looks fabuloussssss
So nice to see your faces Guys!!!!! What a great thing you could meet!!!!
Yeah, what kind of t-shirt is that to wear when you meet with the ladies, Peter? lol
Your dish is super, boy! Great combination of ingredients. For me, rice and shrimps make it a winner and the sauce looks excellent!!!
Nice T-shirt!! Adds a touch of class!!