This Colorful Shrimp Bowl Is Loaded With Mediterranean Flavors
Grain bowls are colorful, tasty, and full of variety all at once, and you can make them as simple or complex as you want. A quick rice, vegetable, and bean dish would be on the easy side, while restaurant takeout bowls can feature a couple of grains, two or three sauces or dips, and a variety of vegetables and protein sources.
I've created this shrimp bowl recipe to be somewhere in the middle. It has enough variety to be interesting and feature multiple flavors without being overly difficult to make, with colorful and nutritious ingredients that I chose based on a delicious Mediterranean theme. The grain base is farro, an ancient form of whole wheat with a nutty flavor and a chewy yet fluffy texture: In fact, farro is even better for you than rice. I rubbed the shrimp with a vibrant garlicky, sweet, and earthy spice mix, and cooked it quickly at a high temperature to seal in the delectable flavor. Two veggies bring fresh color, chickpeas add texture and protein, and olives and feta add their signature briny tang. A creamy fresh green herb sauce completes this terrific meal, which is great served warm or cold.
This is an excellent recipe for meal prep. You can prepare the ingredients and some of the components ahead of time, or even put together whole bowls, and just serve them when you're ready. If you add more ingredients that don't take much work, like store-bought hummus or tzatziki, avocado, and frozen falafel, you can add even more variety to the bowls and then mix and match to create easy, convenient meals for the whole week.
Gather your Mediterranean shrimp bowl ingredients
For the herb sauce, gather parsley, mint, Greek yogurt, lemon juice, and salt. The grain for this bowl is pearled farro. Make sure you rinse it before you cook it. You will also need black pepper, garlic, yellow onion, zucchini, red bell pepper, chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, red onion, red wine vinegar, and dried oregano. I used spinach for the leafy green, but any other kind that you prefer will be fine. Grab some shrimp (peel and devein if necessary), paprika, garlic powder, cumin, and canola oil to make the seasoned shrimp. Finally, Kalamata olives and feta cheese will be used for topping.
Step 1: Make the sauce
Place the parsley, mint, yogurt, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 2 ½ tablespoons water, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a jar or narrow container suitable for an immersion blender and puree until smooth. Adjust for salt if desired and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Step 2: Boil the water
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Step 3: Cook the farro
Add the farro, lower the heat to a simmer, and let it cook for 12-15 minutes until the grains are tender and chewy but retain some bite.
Step 4: Drain the farro
Remove the pot from the heat and drain the farro through a fine mesh sieve.
Step 5: Dress the farro
Transfer the drained farro to a mixing bowl and toss it with 1 teaspoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Adjust for salt and pepper if desired and set aside.
Step 6: Heat the oil
Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a frying pan on medium.
Step 7: Add the garlic and onion
Add the garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until the onion is translucent.
Step 8: Add the vegetables
Add the zucchini and bell pepper and saute for 6-8 more minutes until the vegetables are tender. Stir in ⅛ teaspoon salt (or to taste) and remove the pan from the heat.
Step 9: Make the chickpea salad
Place the chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, red onion, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, oregano, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl and toss to mix. Set aside.
Step 10: Start assembling the bowls
Spread the farro over half of each bowl.
Step 11: Add the greens
Cover the other half of the bowls with spinach or other greens.
Step 12: Add the vegetables
On top of the greens, place the zucchini mixture and the chickpea salad in separate areas.
Step 13: Mix the spices
Whisk the paprika, garlic powder, cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl until evenly combined.
Step 14: Season the shrimp
Sprinkle the spice mixture over both sides of the shrimp and rub it in.
Step 15: Heat the oil
Heat the canola oil in a large heavy frying pan, like a cast iron pan, on medium-high.
Step 16: Cook the shrimp
When the oil is hot, place the shrimp in the pan in a single layer. Work in batches if you don't have a large enough pan. Cook for 2 minutes per side until opaque.
Step 17: Add the shrimp to the bowls
Add the shrimp to the bowls on top of the farro.
Step 18: Add the toppings
Top the bowls with Kalamata olives and crumbled feta and drizzle the green herb sauce on top. Loosen the sauce with a little water if needed.
Step 19: Serve the Mediterranean shrimp bowls
Serve warm or cold with the remaining sauce on the side.
What can I serve with a shrimp bowl?
Mediterranean Shrimp Bowl Recipe
In our vibrant, colorful Mediterranean grain bowl, spiced shrimp, lots of veggies, and a creamy green sauce are piled on a bed of nutty, fluffy farro.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice, divided
- ¾ teaspoon salt, divided
- ⅔ cup dry pearled farro, rinsed
- 4 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ¼ cup chopped yellow onion
- 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup cooked chickpeas
- ½ cup diced cucumber
- ½ cup diced tomato
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 cups roughly chopped spinach or leafy greens of your choice
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¾ pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 16 Kalamata olives
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta
Directions
- Place the parsley, mint, yogurt, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 2 ½ tablespoons water, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a jar or narrow container suitable for an immersion blender and puree until smooth. Adjust for salt if desired and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
- Add the farro, lower the heat to a simmer, and let it cook for 12-15 minutes until the grains are tender and chewy but retain some bite.
- Remove the pot from the heat and drain the farro through a fine mesh sieve.
- Transfer the drained farro to a mixing bowl and toss it with 1 teaspoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, ⅛ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper. Adjust for salt and pepper if desired and set aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a frying pan on medium.
- Add the garlic and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until the onion is translucent.
- Add the zucchini and bell pepper and saute for 6-8 more minutes until the vegetables are tender. Stir in ⅛ teaspoon salt (or to taste) and remove the pan from the heat.
- Place the chickpeas, cucumber, tomato, red onion, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar, oregano, and ⅛ teaspoon salt in a mixing bowl and toss to mix. Set aside.
- Spread the farro over half of each bowl.
- Cover the other half of the bowls with spinach or other greens.
- On top of the greens, place the zucchini mixture and the chickpea salad in separate areas.
- Whisk the paprika, garlic powder, cumin, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper in a small bowl until evenly combined.
- Sprinkle the spice mixture over both sides of the shrimp and rub it in.
- Heat the canola oil in a large heavy frying pan, like a cast iron pan, on medium-high.
- When the oil is hot, place the shrimp in the pan in a single layer. Work in batches if you don’t have a large enough pan. Cook for 2 minutes per side until opaque.
- Add the shrimp to the bowls on top of the farro.
- Top the bowls with Kalamata olives and crumbled feta and drizzle the green herb sauce on top. Loosen the sauce with a little water if needed.
- Serve warm or cold with the remaining sauce on the side.
Nutrition
| Calories per Serving | 859 |
| Total Fat | 33.6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8.9 g |
| Trans Fat | 0.0 g |
| Cholesterol | 305.7 mg |
| Total Carbohydrates | 85.5 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 18.9 g |
| Total Sugars | 19.1 g |
| Sodium | 1,825.5 mg |
| Protein | 63.5 g |
How can I customize a Mediterranean shrimp bowl?
All-in-one bowls might be the most customizable of dishes; since they're a collection of ingredients from different categories, it's easy to mix and match according to your preferences. I've chosen farro as the base for this dish, but other grains or pseudo-grains like rice (white or brown), millet, quinoa, and barley, to name a few, are good choices. If you don't eat grains, roasted sweet potato is a delicious and satisfying substitute.
Instead of sauteed zucchini and bell pepper, any of your favorite veggies would work here — you can even keep it seasonal. Broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, carrots, zucchini, peas, mushrooms, Brussels sprouts, and leafy greens would taste great. To mix it up, roast the veggies instead of cooking them in a pan, which will let them develop a deep, caramelized flavor and take less work. The same concept applies to the chickpea salad with raw tomato and cucumber. Add your favorite veggies or use up what you have to prevent food waste.
Olives are a Mediterranean staple. Feel free to experiment with one of the wide variety of olives in this dish, or even use olives stuffed with cheese, garlic, or almonds. Finally, you can round off the bowl with your choice of delicious Mediterranean ingredients like dolmas, hot or sweet peppers, marinated mushrooms or marinated artichokes, falafel, store-bought dips and spreads, and pita bread for dipping. Instead of feta, consider topping the bowl with crispy roasted chickpeas for a dairy-free option.
Is farro the same as spelt?
Ancient grains that humans have been consuming for thousands of years, like einkorn, kamut, and spelt, have been experiencing a revival. They are more resistant to pesticides and have been said to be more nutritious than their more modern counterparts, especially if the modern grain is processed. Farro was one of the first grains humans cultivated in the Fertile Crescent, but it actually isn't just one grain but three.
Farro grande is also known as spelt, farro medio is known as emmer, and farro piccolo is einkorn. Grande, medio, and piccolo, Italian for large, medium, and small, refer to the size of the grain itself. Spelt, the largest grain, is a kind of farro, but not all farro is spelt. If the word farro is used alone, it usually refers to farro medio, or emmer.
Farro may or may not be pearled. This recipe calls for pearled farro, which means the bran has been removed, which also means that it cooks the fastest. Semi-pearled farro contains some of the bran, and whole farro has it all. You'll need to add more cooking time for semi-pearled and whole farro, so check the package directions for the correct number of minutes as well as how much water to use.