Grilled Shrimp With Mustard & Honey
Jun 20th, 2011 | By Peter Minakis | Category: Appetizer, Asparagus, Featured, Greek, Greek Grill, How To, Lemon, Lent, Meze, Olive Oil, Ouzo, Spices, Thessaloniki
Just last month I was in Greece and even though I was there for a a mere 12 days, I squeezed in all the activities I could: seeing family and friends, visiting markets, trying out new eateries and…making new friends. One of the new friends I made was Vefa Alexiadou – the Julia Child of Greek cuisine. I was supposed to see Vefa in Detroit back in April but couldn’t make it but promised to meet up with her on my next visit to Greece.
myself seated with Vefa Alexiadou
Vefa Alexiadou began publishing cookbooks in 1980, she’s written and published 11 best selling cookbooks, 4 of which are in English and 1 is printed in 7 languages! Her books have sold more than 5 million copies in Greece and abroad. Vefa has appeared on Greek TV since 1990 and she later established ‘Vefa’s House”, a franchise chain of stores that sell kitchenware throughout Greece.
Vefa’s Kitchen was released a couple of years ago in the English-speaking world, offering a concise recipe collection from all of Greece’s regions (and Cyprus) and I was beaming when I saw her appear on the Martha Stewart Show. Vefa and I had an informal coffee and chat at the café of of the Asterias Hotel in Panorama – overlooking the Thermaic Gulf and Thessaloniki. We chatted about food, favourite dishes, recipe development and top of everybody’s mind – the Greek economy. 
It was an honour to sit and chat with Vefa and I was moved when she went out of her way to give me a copy of her re-released cookbook, “Greek Cuisine”. This book has updated photos, some of the recipes are in Vefa’s Kitchen but it’s a worthy buy with 375 recipes inside! One of the recipes is a quick and easy meze (appetizer) that’s perfect for the summer grilling season. We’re talking gas or charcoal grill, whole shrimp, quick and perfect for Ouzo on ice.
This recipe was inspired by one of Vefa’s in the book and I’m sure she’ll approve. I’ve blended mustard and honey, some Boukovo (chilli flakes), citrus, garlic and a touch of earthy cumin seeds – just enough to give the shrimp some warm bottom end to play with the honey, mustard and the shrimp’s natural sweetness.
When available, I like whole shrimp – head, tail and even the shells still on them! No, I do not eat the vein (intestine) and nor should you. Here, I’m deveining the shrimp by curving the shrimp in its natural C-shape and if you look closer you’ll see the vein just beneath the flesh. Take a toothpick and insert it center of the tail and pull up the vein. The whole vein will come out of the shrimp and you’ve kept the shape of the shrimp without slicing open the tail (see slide show below).
Grilled Shrimp With Mustard & Honey (Γαριδες στη Σχαρα με Μουσταρδα & Μελι)
(makes an appetizer for 4)
1 lb. of medium-sized shrimp, deveined
1/4 cup Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. of lemon juice
2 tsp. of good mustard
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. of Boukovo (chilli flakes)
1 tsp. of cumin seeds, coarsely ground
2 Tbsp. of honey
1 tsp. sea salt
- If your shrimp are frozen, thaw overnight in your fridge. Peel and devein your shrimp by either running your knife along the back of the shrimp to show the vein or try the toothpick method. Leave the tails on.
- Mix all the ingredients (except for the salt) in a bowl, reserving half of the marinade to baste or drizzle on the shrimp when they are plated. Cover and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the fridge and allow to come to room temperature before grilling.
- Pre-heat your grill to a high heat. Brush the grill surface and wipe with an oiled towel (so your shrimp doesn’t stick). Season both sides of your shrimp with salt and if you wish, you may afix them on skewers (no need to soak the skewers as the shrimp cook very quickly).
- Grill for 1-2 minutes on each side or until pink and arrange on a platter. Drizzle or brush the reserved marinade and drizzle or brush on top. Serve on a bed of grilled asparagus and wedges of lemon and serve with Ouzo on ice.
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© 2011, Peter Minakis. All rights reserved. If you are not reading this post in a feed reader or at http://kalofagas.ca then the site you are reading is illegally publishing copyrighted material. Contact me at truenorth67 AT gmail DOT COM. All recipes, text and photographs in this post are the original creations & property of the author.
[...] Grilled Shrimp with Mustard & Honey [...]
Oh! I am so jealous! I love her recipes and books. You did her proud with this dish Peter…as usual! Can I confirm? Is this the same as “Vefa’s Kitchen” or an entirely different book altogether?
Τί όμορφα δένει η μουστάρδα με τις γαρίδες!!
Εκανες μεζεδάκι σπέσιαλ Peter, και με ουζάκι παραδίπλα τι άλλο θέλουμε!
Φιλιά!
A wonderful combination of flavors! I am a big fan of mustardy food.
Cheers,
Rosa
How exciting to have a chat with Vefa, You’re a lucky man.
These shrimp look so good. I promise to try the toothpick routine when I toss my shrimp on the barbie. –people in Australia would call it a prawn anyway :)
Looks like we both grilled seafood this weekend Peter. Sadly my BBQ needs mending, it’s at times like this that I miss being married to a handy man or that my futire SIL lives in Vancouver:D
Totally digging mustard, honey, chili flakes combo on shrimp…and video.
Beautiful dish and love the flavors. It never would have occurred to me to add to shrimp, but why not?
Vefa seems rather adorable and I’ve enjoyed reading her cookbook….a Greek treasure.
You made friends with Vefa?! NICE! These shrimps sounds divine too… So glad it’s summer and I can cook outside.
Great combination of flavors–I’ve made this twice in the last week, and both times it was a big hit with our young adult kids and their friends!
What a fantastic experience! I had not heard of Vefa until this post – but I always learn a lot when talking to people who have been cooking and writing a lot longer than I have! This recipe looks delicious – and her cookbook sounds like a great addition to anyone’s collection!
[...] shells off your shrimp, leaving the tails in tact (leave the head on as well). Devein your shrimp (use my toothpick method) and rinse and pat-dry. Toss the shrimp with oil, garlic, paprika and salt and pepper and [...]