‘Zaytinya’ Greek Taverna Shrimp (Garides Me Ánitho)

The buttery, fresh-dill-showered shrimp known as garides me ánitho are served, alongside glasses of ouzo, in tavernas all over Greece, according to José Andrés’ Zaytinya, from which this recipe is adapted.

It includes a shocking amount of butter — a whole stick, for a recipe that serves 4. But it’s awfully delicious, easy to make and hey — it’s traditional in Greece, right, so worth treating yourself to once in a while at home. Andrés writes in his headnote that his twist on the traditional dish is adding a touch of grainy mustard. You’ll want to serve it with something to sop up the delicious sauce, whether warm pita, crusty bread or rice. The original recipe calls for drizzling the dish with olive oil at the end, before serving, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to do that after all the butter — and we didn’t miss it.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 stick (8 tablespoons / 113 g) unsalted butter, divided

1 small shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, minced

Kosher salt

1 pound / 454 g large shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon whole-grain Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish

Flaky sea salt

Instructions

1. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan over low heat, then add the minced shallots and garlic. Cook until soft, but not browned, about 5 minutes, then season with salt. While they’re cooking, combine the lemon juice and grainy mustard and set aside. Cut the remaining butter into 5 1-tablespoon chunks and set aside.

2. Season the shrimp with salt and add them to the pan in one layer. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the shrimp begin to color, about 1 minute. Flip the shrimp over, then add the lemon juice-mustard mixture to the pan and swirl around a little. Simmer for 20 seconds, then immediately reduce the heat to low. Drop the chunks of butter into the pan in different spots, and swirl the pan to form a sauce. Continue swirling until you have a creamy, emulsified sauce, about 2 minutes.

3. Once the shrimp are cooked through, remove from the heat and stir in the tablespoon of dill. Spoon the shrimp and sauce into a serving bowl, finish with a little flaky sea salt and garnish with dill.


‘Zaytinya’ Greek Taverna Shrimp (Garides Me Ánitho)

‘Zaytinya’ Greek Taverna Shrimp (Garides Me Ánitho)

Yield: 4
Author: Recipe by José Andrés; adaptation and headnote by Leslie Brenner
The buttery, fresh-dill-showered shrimp known as garides me ánitho are served, alongside glasses of ouzo, in tavernas all over Greece, according to José Andrés’ 'Zaytinya,' from which this recipe is adapted. It includes a shocking amount of butter — a whole stick, for a recipe that serves 4. But it’s awfully delicious, easy to make and hey — it’s traditional in Greece, right, so worth treating yourself to once in a while at home. Andrés writes in his headnote that his twist on the traditional dish is adding a touch of grainy mustard. You’ll want to serve it with something to sop up the delicious sauce, whether warm pita, crusty bread or rice. The original recipe calls for drizzling the dish with olive oil at the end, before serving, but we couldn’t bring ourselves to do that after all the butter — and we didn’t miss it.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons / 113 g) unsalted butter, divided
  • 1 small shallot, minced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • Kosher salt
  • 1 pound / 454 g large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
  • Flaky sea salt

Instructions

  1. Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large sauté pan over low heat, then add the minced shallots and garlic. Cook until soft, but not browned, about 5 minutes, then season with salt. While they’re cooking, combine the lemon juice and grainy mustard and set aside. Cut the remaining butter into 5 1-tablespoon chunks and set aside.
  2. Season the shrimp with salt and add them to the pan in one layer. Increase the heat to medium and cook until the shrimp begin to color, about 1 minute. Flip the shrimp over, then add the lemon juice-mustard mixture to the pan and swirl around a little. Simmer for 20 seconds, then immediately reduce the heat to low. Drop the chunks of butter into the pan in different spots, and swirl the pan to form a sauce. Continue swirling until you have a creamy, emulsified sauce, about 2 minutes.
  3. Once the shrimp are cooked through, remove from the heat and stir in the tablespoon of dill. Spoon the shrimp and sauce into a serving bowl, finish with a little flaky sea salt and garnish with dill.
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Snack, Meze, Mezze, Appetizer
Greek, Mediterranean
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