It’s been really busy around the Kalofagas camp – prepping and cooking for over 2000 guests at TUM, planning, recipe-testing and executing my last Greek Supper Club, I’m participating in a Taco Throwdown this week and in between all this I am also entertaining friends from out of town and finding the time to feed myself.

There have been times when I was so tired that I simply submitted and ordered take-out or I would head out to a restaurant for lunch or dinner. In short…I’ve been cooking for everyone but me! This evening was one of the first evenings in a while when I could go into the kitchen, be inspired and whip up a dish that would satisfy my belly and soul and even come up with a dish worthy of a blog post.

Today I’m sharing a dish that combines some elements of Shrimp Saganaki and some elements of a mac n’ cheese. What we have here is Shrimp (nothing to too big), a light tomato sauce punched up with oregano and basil and there’s cream and crumbled Feta cheese to make-up the thick sauce. I also added some mushrooms (which I love with seafood) , made a green herbed sauce of parsley and basil to add colour and another layer of flavour to this comforting pasta dish.

Shrimp, Macaroni & Feta

(serves 4)

20-24 medium-sized shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 small red onion, finely minced

1 cup of button mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

6 ripe plum tomatoes, passed through a box grater

1 tsp. sweet paprika

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 shot of Ouzo

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp. dry Greek oregano

1 cup of fresh basil leaves, chopped

1 cup of heavy cream (or evaporated milk)

1 cup of crumbled Feta

1 cup cubed feta

Basil-Parsley Sauce

1-2 red chillis

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp. of honey

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

sea salt to taste

Pre-heated broiler

1. Place a large pot of water on your stove-top and bring to a boil. Season with salt and once the boil returns add the pasta and cook for about 6-7 minutes. To make the basil-parsley sauce, simply add all the ingredients in a food processor or blender and purée. Add oil or water if too thick, adjust taste with ingredients. Reserve.
2. In the meantime, add the olive oil, butter, onions, garlic, mushrooms, paprika and sweat over medium heat for about five minutes. Now add the grated tomato purée and bring up to a simmer. Season with salt, pepper and add the wine and Ouzo and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.
3. Add the cream, crumbled Feta and reduce until the Feta and cream have thickened into an amalgamated sauce with the tomatoes. Add a pinch of chilli flakes and keep warm.
4. As soon as the pasta is cooked, strain and add into the sauce and chopped basil. Toss until well coated and empty into individual or family sized baking vessels. Divide and place the shrimp on top of each serving along with the cubs of Feta and drizzle with cream and place under your broiler for about 5 minutes or until the shrimp have turned pink and the cheese has just melted.
5. Carefully remove from the oven, sprinkle dried Greek oregano and spoon some basil-parsley sauce on each portion and serve.