Review of March 2000's Basil Shrimp with Orzo and Feta

[BethH]

I still haven't gotten my August issue (sigh!) so, I've gone back to some of the recipes I wanted to try from older issues like this gem! I'm glad I haven't gotten August so I could find this one!

I don't remember the page offhand, but its in the section on packet cooking...where everything cooks in a foil packet. This one has orzo, lemon, basil, shrimp, feta, tomatoes, green onions and its just super! I, of course, added two cloves of garlic because no meal is complete without!

Anyway, I just wanted to post my review because I really think this is a keeper for me! Enjoy!

[christinew]

BethH,

Great...since you like it I will try it. I will hunt for my March issue. Did you not get your August issue yet? I feel bad for you.

[Nicole]

I agree, this is a really great recipe. Thanks for posting your review. I had forgotten how good it was...now that you have reminded me, I think I'll make it this week! I especially loved the easy clean up. Hope that your August issue comes soon!

[cookboy]

Beth-
I tried that recipe a couple of months ago and LOVED it. It was incredibly easy to make, and suprisingly flavorful.

Does anyone have any ideas for additional side items that might go well with this dish?

p.s. Isn't this recipe in the March 2000 issue??

[This message has been edited by cookboy (edited 08-02-2000).]

[This message has been edited by cookboy (edited 08-02-2000).]

[LSB]

This is one of my favorites too! Spinach salad went really well with it - also just a green salad. With all the fresh garden tomatoes now, A tomato-herb salad with a vinaigrette would be good too. Hmmm....now I think I'll have to make that! Louise

[Beth H]

You can call CL tomorrow and ask them to re-send the August issue to you. The 3rd of each month is when they consider an issue "late."

[Angela]

This recipe was a winner!! It was so quick and easy and tasted like something you'd get at a nice restaurant. I guess getting the August issue late paid off (maybe?). I understand your plight, I only received mine yesterday.

[Angela]

This recipe was a winner!! It was so quick and easy and tasted like something you'd get at a nice restaurant. I guess getting the August issue late paid off (maybe?). I understand your plight Beth, I only received mine yesterday.

[cookboy]

Originally posted by Beth H:
You can call CL tomorrow and ask them to re-send the August issue to you. The 3rd of each month is when they consider an issue "late."

actually, the Cooking Light folks consider the 7th of the month to be the late date. . . I've had to wrestle with late mags too often!

[BethH]

Thank you for all your encouraging words! I'll be sure to post when the August issue finally arrives! Aug. 3rd--Still waiting.

I'm not too upset about it though because I've eaten pretty well this week without it! But I must admit, I am looking forward to checking out the filet recipe and the meatloaf one very much!

[skylarc]

Originally posted by BethH:
[B]I still haven't gotten my August issue (sigh!) ...I'm glad I haven't gotten August so I could find this one!

I don't remember the page offhand, but its in the section on packet cooking...where everything cooks in a foil packet. This one has orzo, lemon, basil, shrimp, feta, tomatoes, green onions and its just super! B]

We really liked this one, too. In the same article, the Sicilian Tuna steak with Couscous was very good. I had trouble finding the pre-made foil packets & ended up only finding the large size. Next time I'll just make my own packet.

Also a big hit in the March 2000 issue was the Curried Chicken with Couscous -- I've made this one a couple of times now & it makes a good one-container lunch leftover.

I think I've earned the lamest mail carrier award -- it's Aug. 13 & I still don't have the August issue. I hate it when I see all the new issues on the newstand and haven't received my subscription. My husband & I have concluded that the carrier must read all the magazines before she delivers them.

[JJ40]

Could someone post this recipe, please? I think I must have tossed it by accident.

Thanks!
Julie

[lindrusso]

Here's the recipe. It gets RAVE reviews every time we make it!!! And it's very easy to boot!

Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo

1 regular-size foil oven bag
Cooking spray
1/2 cup uncooked orzo
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 cup diced tomato
3/4 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1. Preheat oven to 450º.

2. Coat inside of oven bag with cooking spray. Place the bag on a large shallow baking pan.

3. Cook the pasta in boiling water 5 minutes, omitting salt and fat; drain. Place the pasta in a large bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon oil and next 7 ingredients (1 teaspoon oil through pepper). Place the orzo mixture in prepared oven bag. Combine shrimp and basil. Arrange shrimp mixture on orzo mixture. Fold edge of bag over to seal. Bake at 450º for 25 minutes or until shrimp are done. Cut open bag with sharp knife, and peel back the foil. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil.

[BethH]

Your mail carrier isn't the only lame one! I still haven't received my Aug issue either. I e-mailed CL and they are going to send me another one (within 15-17 working days--oh.) You might want to contact them about it. I figure I'll get Sept and Aug about a week apart--yikes! I've been struggling with myself not to buy the Aug. issue at the newsstand.

Also--I could only find the large size foil bags too! It worked just fine for me anyway.

Question about packet cooking...can I substitute a foil oven bag for a parchment paper bag?

[lanie]

Just a quick question - we are unable to get 'those bags' here in Canada - could one just wrap in foil or what would be the problem covered tightly in any baking dish sprayed with oil/whatever? AND - how many would this serve - does not seem like much? Has anyone tried just baking/covering it? Thanks Lanie

N.B. One other thing - did YOU ALL use fresh peeled and seeded roma tomatoes or anyone use canned?

[This message has been edited by lanie (edited 11-24-2000).]

[lindrusso]

Lanie,

When I make this dish for guests, I use a shallow casserole covered with foil (mine doesn't have a lid - I'm sure that would work too). So don't worry about the bag - that's mostly there to save time and clean-up, not as a necessity.

I honestly don't remember if I used fresh tomatoes or not, but I definitely think canned would work fine. Especially considering the condition of most store-bought tomatoes this time of year!!

Oh, and this recipe is for two servings, so you're right!

[kltcarley]

How does this compare the the similar Baked shrimp with feta that was a reader recipe from a doctor, I think. We tried that and I thought it was o.k. Is this one better?

[BJennif]

Yes! I think this one is way better than the one from the Dr.--we tried both. I just love the lemon in this one...we make it about once every 2 weeks!!! Try it if you haven't it's really easy and tastes great!
Jen

[lanie]

I made the Basil Shrimp with Feta & Orzo last night - it was absolutely fabulous - made some modifications which worked really well. Sauted about 2-3 chopped garlic cloves in the oil (prob a bit more oil) poured that over the orzo, sprinkled additional Greek cheese (don't know name, it's a mile long name but excellent) over top before baking, and Lindrusso - so right - didn't need that bag and it really only did feed 2 - what a fantastic flavor - try the garlic next time - too good! Oh - found those vine ripened tomatoes and probably had more than a cup, however, wouldn't hesitate using canned tomatoes - so many variations one could do with this recipe!

[sunberst]

this was really good. easy to make because after the chopping & combining of ingredients, i kicked back with a glass of wine while it was baking for 25 minutes.

the foil kept the juices & steam in, which yielded extra juicy and tender shrimp! wish i tried this one sooner.

a note to anyone making this for company or a larger family- it doesnt make a whole lot. dbf & myself polished it off ourselves.

edited to say: i used muir glen canned tomatoes because i didnt have fresh. worked fine!

[funnybone]

Originally posted by BethH
I still haven't gotten my August issue (sigh!) so, I've gone back to some of the recipes I wanted to try from older issues like this gem! I'm glad I haven't gotten August so I could find this one!

Whew - old thread! I was beginning to wonder why on July 3rd BethH would be expecting August already!


I love when these old thread resurface because it reminds me of recipes I haven't thought of in ages! Thanks Sunburst for the reminder. What could be better than SHRIMP and FETA!

[semmens]

and we loved it. DH and I ate the whole thing by ourselves (we made a taco kit for the kids!).

I added more salt at the end and I think a little more lemon juice sprinkled on after cooking would be perfect. Definitely will make this again.

Laura

[Tiger]

Originally posted by funnybone






I love when these old thread resurface because it reminds me of recipes I haven't thought of in ages! Thanks Sunburst for the reminder.

I was thinking the same thing! I love this recipe and had forgotten about it. I'll be putting it on next weeks menu.
I also pick up a lot of recipes on resurfaced threads that I missed the first time around.

[keg64]

Big thanks for bringing this up recently! Very easy (once the folks in the grocery could find the orzo for me!) and very good. DH and I had NO problem finishing the entire packet

[PoppyJ]

It only took me about three years to make this and my only question is why did I wait so long???

I thought all the flavors went together very nicely. Of course it has everything I love...shrimp, tomatoes, cheese, and tomatoes. I found ff feta at the store and didn't taste any difference. I am actually making this again tonight.

My DH said this was one of the best meals I have made in a really long time...should I be insulted?

[kristalina_22]

Thanks for moving this up Poppy. I am making this tonight as well, and it was so funny to see it on the board. After reading through everyone's posts, I am really looking foward to trying it.

Kristi

[Pony]

I've been looking for feta recipes, have a lot. So, I decided to make this one last night. We agree with everyone's comments. It was easy and so good. We used little ditalini pasta instead of orzo, b/c we had some on hand. I used just about 1/4 cup canned tomatoes since I had some to use up and used fresh tomatoes for the rest of the amount. You could easily use all canned. We increased the ingredients by just a little, little more basil, lemon, tomatoes.....yum! We served it with a salad. Loved it and will make again.

[biondetta]

This deserves to be bumped up again.

I was looking for some new shrimp recipes yesterday and came across this one. It sounded lovely, so I gave it a shot. Delicious! Such a lovely blend of flavors without losing the actual taste of the shrimp as seems to often happen with a lot of shrimp recipes. It was light and fresh, yet with some body to it.

I'm not a big fan of tomatoes, but I've been eating them a little more and this was a perfect use of them for me. They blend in with the flavors enough that I don't get distracted by them. The only difference in how I made the recipe was that I used goat cheese crumbles instead of feta, simply because I had some on hand that needed to be eaten. I would certainly use the goat cheese again.

I concur with all of the previous posters -- this is a wonderful dish and a definite repeater!

[Kristal]

This is one of my favorite CL recipes. It's especially good this time of year with perfectly ripe tomatoes and fresh basil. Thanks for reminding me of it, Biondetta.

[BeachBum]

I'm making this oldie but goodie tonight and thought I'd give it a bump. I think it was the first CL recipe I ever made, so it always brings back good memories