Dr. Sonja Grbevski and Peco Grbevski
Photography by John Liviero
Dr. Sonja Grbevski has 30 years of experience in the Health Care System, both in community and hospital settings. Dr. Grbevski has her doctorate in Counsellor Education, with cognates in Rehabilitation Counselling and Educational Psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Sonja is currently the Executive Director at Brentwood Recovery Home in Windsor, Ontario. She has been with the organization since May 2025.
Often times Dr. Grbevski has various “meze” appetizers before dinner. Wanting to create something unique and tasty, her husband, Peco, came up with a twist to traditional shrimp by adding “Ajvar”, a pepper spread, to the appetizer.For those who want to make this into an actual dinner, mix with your favourite pasta.
Onion and Roasted Red Pepper Shrimp
Ingredients:
• 1 TBS avocado oil
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 12-14 peeled and de-veined shrimp
• 3 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 5 TBS Ajvar (roasted red pepper spread)
• 1 TBS tomato paste
• 1.5 cups heavy cream (can substitute half and half)
• Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Instructions:
Over low-medium heat add oil to pan. Add onions and fry slowly until almost caramelized. Stir in 3 cloves of crushed garlic. Cook for another 3 minutes. Add 1 TBS tomato paste and cook for about 5 minutes. Add onion powder and continue cooking.
The secret is to slowly cook the onions with all the ingredients until they become creamy in texture. If onions dry up, add small amount of water each time. This can be repeated until desired consistency is achieved.
When onions become almost creamy add 5 TBS of Ajvar. Cook until Ajvar is well incorporated and the mixture has a pasty consistency. Add 1.5 cups of heavy cream and stir. Cook on low heat for an additional 5 minutes to reduce until it achieves a smooth texture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat as you prepare the shrimp.
Add shrimp to boiling water and let boil for no longer than 1 minute. Strain shrimp from water and add to sauce. Turn heat on low and stir shrimp until they are covered in sauce. Keep on low heat for another minute or two and you are done. Sprinkle parsley flakes on top.
The shrimp can be enjoyed as an appetizer with garlic bread or if you are a shrimp lover like me, you can make a meal out of it. Enjoy!
Published in the Summer 2026 Edition.
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