Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Mario Batali's Rosemary Shrimp

Posted by Sarah Wolf, July 3, 2008 at 1:00 AM

- serves 6 -
Adapted from Mario Batali's Italian Grill

Ingredients

1 bunch Italian parsley, leaves only (about 2 cups loosely packed)
1 bunch basil, leaves only (about 2 cups packed)
2 cups fresh bread crumbs
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp (21-30 per pound), peeled and deveined
12 large,sturdy rosemary sprigs about 8 inches long for skewers
2 lemons, cut into wedges

Procedure

1. Pull off most of the leaves from each rosemary sprig, leaving a nice tuft of leaves at the top. Using a sharp knife, cut off the bottom of the sprig on a diagonal to give you a sharp point. Soak in water for at least two hours, or overnight.

2. Toss the parsley and basil leaves into a food processor, add the bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup of the olive oil, and zap until the herbs are chopped and the bread crumbs look green. Transfer to a pie plate or wide shallow bowl, add the shrimp, and toss to coat well.

3. Skewer 4 or 5 shrimp on each rosemary spring (the easiest way to do this is line up 4 or 5 shrimp at a time on a work surface and run a skewer through them; then separate them slightly so they will cook evenly). Dredge on both sides in the bread crumb mixture, place on a platter, and put in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat a gas grill or prepare a fire in a charcoal grill. Put a piastra or a griddle on the grill to preheat.

5. Spritz or brush the piastra or griddle with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Place the skewers on the piastra or griddle and cook, turning once, just until the shrimp are opaque throughout and some of the crumbs are browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving platter and serve with the lemon wedges.

1 Comment | Tags: grilling, Mario Batali, shrimp