Shrimp Saganaki with Feta Cheese

Directions

• Making the Homemade Roasted Tomato Sauce
• First, I prepared the tomato sauce from scratch because I wanted it homemade, not from a bottle. I washed the cherry tomatoes and placed them on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. Then, I added the peeled garlic cloves, olive oil, a pinch of salt, and pepper. I baked everything in a preheated oven at 200°C (390°F) for about 10 minutes.
• Once the tomatoes were perfectly roasted, I took them out of the oven, let them cool down for about 2 minutes, and then transferred everything into a blender (a hand blender works just as well). I blended it for 1 minute and then passed the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any remaining skin or seeds. The result was a smooth, aromatic, and super tasty sauce.
• Preparing and Cooking the Shrimp
• Next, I prepped the shrimp: I washed and cleaned them, then placed them on a paper towel to absorb all the excess water.
• finely chopped the onion and sautéed it in a pan with coconut oil (you can also use olive or sunflower oil, but I prefer coconut oil because it is healthier). Then, I added the sweet paprika, the gram of sugar, and the fresh tomato sauce, letting it simmer for 1-2 minutes.
• added the shrimp into the pan and let them cook over low heat for another 2-3 minutes, making sure to flip them side to side. After that, I tossed in the pieces of hot chilli pepper, plus salt and black pepper to taste. Tip: Be careful with the salt, since the feta cheese we are adding next is already quite salty!
• Baking the Saganaki
• I removed the pan from the heat, topped it with the crumbled feta cheese, and sprinkled some dried parsley over it (you can easily substitute this with oregano).
• Finally, I covered the pan with aluminum foil and placed it into the oven at 200°C (390°F) for 20 minutes.
• I served it hot alongside crunchy slices of toast.