This recipe is amazingly simple but also amazingly tasty. I love it as a side dish to lamb or beef because it sets off the heavy meat perfectly. It takes minutes to prepare but tastes like it takes a great deal more effort.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano, crumbled
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced
- 1 bay leaf
- zest of one lemon
- 1 medium shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 medium shallot
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- 24 jumbo shrimp, deveined but not peeled
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- lemon wedges as an accompaniment
Directions:
- Crush and peel the garlic cloves. Along with the salt, mash the garlic into a paste.
- In a large bowl stir together the garlic, shallot, oil, oregano, thyme, lemon zest, bay leaf and the pepper. Add the shrimps, and toss them to coat them well.
- Let the shrimp marinate, covered and chilled, for at least 1 hour or overnight. Stir in the lemon juice, let the mixture stand at room temperature for an hour, and drain the shrimp in a fine sieve, reserving the marinade. Soak 8 wooden skewers in water for at least an hour.
- Thread three shrimps per skewer and grill on barbeque for about 3 minutes on each side, or until they are cooked through. (Alternatively, they can be broiled on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 4 inches from the heat for 4 minutes on each side.) Bring left over marinade to a boil and serve alongside as a dipping sauce.
After-Thoughts:
Leaving the peels on the shrimp prevents them from overcooking on the grill and thus drying out. It might take a few extra minutes to peel them when eating but the taste is definitely worth it. They melt in your mouth!
Recipe Origin:
Based on a Gourmet magazine recipe from June, 1993