Recipes Shrimp-and-Feta-Stuffed Zucchini 5.0 (3,244) Add your rating & review Chef Way Ana Sortun tops stuffed zucchini with a tangy sauce of feta, olive oil and Hungarian peppers (spicy wax chiles).Easy Way Top the roasted zucchini with a little feta, then broil briefly. More Delicious Shrimp Dishes By Ana Sortun Ana Sortun F&W Star Chef » See All F&W Chef Superstars Restaurants: Oleana, Sofra (Cambridge, MA) Education: La Varenne Cooking School, Paris What are you known for? Using spices and eastern Mediterranean flavors. Favorite cookbooks of all time. All of Greg Malouf’s books, for his creative view on Middle Eastern food, his ability put a personal, modern touch on something so traditional. What’s one technique everyone should know? How to mince garlic using the back of a knife. I don’t mean smashing it—I mean literally slicing it with the opposite, dull edge of the blade. It minces the garlic finely without juicing it up too much. Best-bang-for-the-buck food trip? Turkey, particularly Istanbul or Gaziantep. Istanbul’s not so cheap but the street food is—I love to get the tripe sandwiches and fried mussels in the market. Gazientep is inexpensive. It’s the food capital of Turkey. I love the restaurant Imam Cagdas. If you could invent a restaurant for an imaginary project, what would it be? Some type of cool community center with classes and a bunch of different cafés. There are several where I’m from in Seattle, but none out here in Boston. What is your current food obsession? Sprouted things, like lentils and grains. I’ve been experimenting with some sprouting projects. I soak the beans or grains, then spread them out on a big sheet tray and cover them with a wet towel. We’ve been putting the sprouts in salads mostly, with storage—crop vegetables like shaved carrots, cabbage or turnips. Describe a meal that tells your story as a chef. I first went to Turkey about 15 years ago, invited by some friends. I didn’t know anything about the country. We went to Gaziantep, where they arranged a potluck lunch. Thirty-five women each brought a different recipe they cherished. That’s where I first tasted the spice combinations we now use—unusual ones like sumac and dried spearmint and different red peppers, or cumin combined with cinnamon. Nothing was heavily spiced, but their bright flavors were like nothing I had never imagined before. Salads, vegetables cooked in yogurt, tiny bulgur meatballs braised with eggplant and tomato—the style of food and the flavors inspired me to start studying what I make now. What do you eat straight out of the fridge, standing up? Oh, my god, what don’t I eat straight out of the fridge standing up? I don’t think I can narrow it down to one thing. Best new store-bought ingredient? Kalamata olives from Paul Hatziiliades of Extra Virgin Foods. He’s bringing some great stuff in from Greece (extravirginfoods.com). I’ve always hated kalamatas since they’re usually mushy and overbrined, but his are the most exquisite ones I’ve ever had in my life. They come from a small estate. Favorite online shop?Ritrovo.com. They have some beautiful things from Italy; we use their Controne peppers at Sofra, our bakery. It’s a dried pepper somewhat like Urfa or Aleppo pepper, but with more heat. Theirs is made by one man, who sorts the peppers by hand and dries them in the sun. Favorite app? ChefsFeed, for eating out when I’m traveling. I used it when I was in Seattle a couple of weeks ago. They’ve done an amazing job. Food & Wine's Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 15, 2019 Print Rate It Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: © Kana Okada Active Time: 40 mins Total Time: 1 hrs 15 mins Yield: 6 Ingredients 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing 1 large white onion, finely chopped 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped 1/2 fennel bulb, finely chopped 1 large garlic clove, minced 4 plum tomatoes, chopped 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3/4 pound shelled and deveined large shrimp, finely chopped 2 tablespoons chopped parsley 2 tablespoons chopped dill 6 small, round or oblong zucchini (2 1/2 pounds), halved lengthwise 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta (6 ounces) Directions Preheat the oven to 425°. In a skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion, bell pepper, fennel and garlic and cook over moderately high heat, stirring, until tender, 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and crushed red pepper and cook, mashing, until thickened, 5 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from the heat; let cool slightly. Stir in the shrimp, parsley and dill. Using a spoon, scoop out the flesh of the zucchini, leaving a 1/4-inch shell all around. Rub with oil. Season the zucchini shells with salt and pepper and stuff with the filling. Transfer to a lightly oiled roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes, until the filling is cooked through and the zucchini is just tender. Preheat the broiler and position a rack 6 inches from the heat. Top the zucchini with the feta and broil for 5 minutes, until the feta is melted and golden. Serve the stuffed zucchini hot or at room temperature. Suggested Pairing Vibrant, citrus-scented Greek white. Rate it Print