This is one of those super simple recipes that deliver a ton of flavor, turning a mid-week dinner into a special event. Since seafood in general doesn’t need to be marinated for a long time, you can do the whole prep after arriving home from work. But, if you want to make things even easier, make the marinade, clean the shrimp early in the morning, and keep both items in the fridge until showtime. Since we have the luxury of coming home for lunch every day, that’s when I normally get this type of prep work done. A small investment of time at noon, and voilà: painless dinner later in the evening.
(Cooked: June 4th – Blogged Oct 1st)
PROSCIUTTO-WRAPPED SHRIMP SKEWERS
(slightly adapted from a recipe by Rachael Ray)
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 scallions, white parts finely chopped and green parts thinly sliced on an angle, divided
1 teaspoon Hungarian red pepper (or 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 jumbo shrimp, tails on and deveined
12 slices prosciutto
Combine the olive oil, scallion whites, red pepper and lemon juice in a medium size bowl. Season the shrimp lightly with salt and pepper, add to the marinade. Toss to coat, and leave for 30 minutes in the fridge. Wrap each shrimp with a slice of prosciutto and thread onto a metal skewer. If using wood skewers, soak them in water for a few hours.
Grill the shrimp until firm and opaque, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a serving plate and decorate with sliced scallions, if you like. I had some fennel fronds in the fridge, that’s what I added.
ENJOY!
to print the recipe, click here
Comments: The Hungarian pepper I used for this marinade was a gift I mentioned in this post. I love its complex flavor and mild level of heat. I searched and it is available on amazon.com, but the price made me hyperventilate a little. Lucky me, I do have very nice friends… Red pepper flakes (or fresh Fresno peppers) can be used instead, of course.
My package of prosciutto came with only 10 slices, so some of the shrimp (I actually cooked 14) went to the grill naked. They did not seem to mind, and we definitely did not mind either. I grilled those for about 30 seconds less on each side. I also like to use a double skewer, a trick that prevents the shrimp from spinning around and makes flipping a lot easier.
Most recipes would call for bacon instead of prosciutto, but I don’t quite get that. By the time the bacon is properly cooked, seafood will be severely over-done. I find that prosciutto works much better, as all you need is to get some grill marks on it, so the timing can agree with the seafood wrapped inside it. Alternatively, if you prefer the flavor of bacon, you can pre-cook before wrapping delicate seafood with it. Check Melissa’s method with a click here.
Our dinner that evening was a nice take on surf-and-turf… Juicy shrimp, and deliciously grilled hanger steak. Light, flavorful, and a breeze to prepare! Cannot beat that.
ONE YEAR AGO: Linguine with Cauliflower Pesto
TWO YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: A Tribute to Daniel
THREE YEARS AGO: Nutella Drop Cookies
FOUR YEARS AGO: Dreaming of butternut squash
FIVE YEARS AGO: Simply Elegant: Salmon Curry (one of my very favorite dishes!)
Bewitching Kitchen 
These look amazing! Sounds like I need to order some Hungarian pepper also!
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Go for it! 😉 But seriously, any other type of pepper should work great, in case you also start weeping when you see the price 😉
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This looks so delicious, Sally! You know, my mother and I just had that discussion yesterday, as we were watching tv, and something came up about bacon wrapped scallops. She said the same exact thing… how do you cook seafood that is wrapped in bacon? It would be severely overdone as you say. I said that maybe if you pre-cook the bacon, so that it is almost finished cooking, yet still pliable enough to wrap around the scallop, it would work. Something to try, anyway! Love painless dinners! ❤ Wonderful recipe.
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That works too! I thought about blogging on it, but Melissa from I Breathe I’m Hungry did so beautifully, so here is a link for you
http://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/2014/07/low-carb-bacon-wrapped-bbq-shrimp-recipe.html
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Your comment made me edit the post, to include a link to Melissa’s blog – I think it’s worth sharing her method to deal with bacon & seafood skewers
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There’s not a lot you could do to a shrimp that would make me not enjoy it but this recipe is a taste treat combining the lean shrimp with a tiny bit of fat in the salty prosciutto.
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Agree with you, I will take shrimp in any type of preparation, as long as it’s not cooked to death, of course! 😉
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Oh this looks wonderfully simple! I tried bacon wrapped scallops once and what a terrible over cooked scallops they were by the time the
Bacon cooked so heading over now to Melissa to check out her method. Also….salmon curry?? Yummm!
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Salmon curry – that is an amazing recipe, so simple but absolutely delicious, and I hope you give it a try
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Amazing! Love shrimp.
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what’s not to like, right? 😉
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These look great…and pretty simple for a casual, but yummy dinner. Everyone wraps there shrimp in bacon now, but give me prosciutto any day.
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I love the saltiness of the prosciutto and its slightly less fatty nature. Bacon can get so greasy
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I like this Italianized version of surf and turf! The prosciutto sounds way better than whatever surf and turf is normally served with!
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We really loved this dinner, and I intend to make it again before the weather turns too cold…
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Now this is my kind of surf and turf. Love how the prosciutto protects the shrimp and helps to keep it from drying out when cooking. YUM!
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Yes, the prosciutto does a great job and everything was perfectly cooked this way. Such a great simple meal…
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Love Love this. I can only get 4 oz. packages of prosciutto where I live, so I completely understand that predicament. Poor naked shrimp. Love your marinade as well.
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Marinade was perfect for the shrimp, just a little spice… Hope you try this recipe, Mimi!
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A fantastic weeknight treat! I love it. We’re big shrimp fans as you know. This will be a winner with everyone. Thank you for the double skewer tip. That is genius!
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That dish is definitely a celebration. I’m going to spoil John and make this for him. 🙂
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