Lemony Greek Noodles with Prawns, Leeks & Retsina
Here’s a simple Greek recipe for a traditional Greek pasta called hilopites, a kind of flat noodle. The sauce that accompanies it is easy to make and is inspired by the Greek recipe for shrimp saganaki. This easy Greek seafood recipe is great for a quick midweek meal. Sip one of the many Greek whites with it, too!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin Greek olive oil plus more as needed
- 2 leeks trimmed, halved lengthwise and cut into thin crescents
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups cherry or teardrop tomatoes halved
- 24 medium-large shrimp or prawns preferably fresh, heads and tails on, deveined and peeled
- Grated zest of 1 lemon preferably organic
- ½ cup Greek retsina or other dry white Greek wine
- Greek sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 cup diced Greek feta
- ½ cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ cup chopped fresh oregano dill or mint leaves
- 1 pound Greek hilopites or other egg noodles
Instructions
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Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
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Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet and cook the leeks over medium heat until tender and just beginning to color. Stir in the garlic and turn in the leeks for about a minute to soften. Add the tomato halves and shake the pan back and forth intermittently for about 8 minutes, until the tomatoes soften and wrinkle.
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Generously salt the pasta water and add the hilopites.
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While the pasta is boiling, add the shrimp to the skillet and shake the pan back and forth until the shrimp start to turn bright pink. Gently stir in the lemon zest. Add the retsina and deglaze, simmering, in other words, until the alcohol cooks off. Toss in the diced feta. Season to taste with salt and pepper and gently stir in the fresh herbs.
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Drain the pasta, reserving about a cup of its cooking liquid. Toss the pasta with the remaining two tablespoons, or more, as desired, of olive oil and a little of the pasta liquid to keep it moist and almost creamy.
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Serve hot with the shrimp-leek sauce on top.
