GRILLED SHRIMP RECIPE WITH ROASTED GARLIC-CILANTRO SAUCE

Happy Friday! Hope you’re enjoying the holidays. It’s the day after Christmas which means, for many, it’s a day marked with laziness and food-hangover. No judging here:-)  My kiddos are sleeping in, and this gives me a brief chance to share with you one of my favorite grilled shrimp recipes: grilled shrimp with roasted garlic-cilantro sauce. You might like to make this for New Year’s Eve; just sayin!

I told you earlier that this was going to be a quiet Christmas; just the four of us. But that is about to change in a couple of hours. My brother and his family from Toronto have decided, last-minute, to brave the drive of 16 hours and be with us for a few days. I am over-the-moon excited to see my only sibling; the older and much wiser one  We don’t see each other enough; and we have not spent the holidays together as a family in many many years!

I have such memories of our Christmases together as children. The holidays were different back then. I am sure they were not perfect, but my memories are only happy ones. Growing up, Santa was not as popular in Egypt, nor was the Christmas tree. But my brother and I still received gifts from Santa. Because we didn’t have a tree, our clever Santa left us each a gift at the foot of the bed. Ah the feeling of kicking my legs in the morning only to find a special little surprise! I smile every time I think about that:-)

Even though today, in my own home, we do have a Christmas tree and all, our Santa still leaves one gift at the foot of the bed for each of my girls. Some traditions are worth carrying on, don’t you think?

Since my brother is on his way, I was thinking about dishes he would enjoy. We are both seafood fans- can’t avoid that if you grew up on the Mediterranean! My mind immediately went to shrimp, prawns in particular. Let me just make a small confession: I refuse to buy the usual ring of ready shrimp cocktail. To me, shrimp is so easy to make; and I just prefer it fresh.  Prawns are larger and more expensive, but you can make this recipe with a smaller shrimp. Adjust grill time; of course. And because it is freezing here, I used an indoor cast-iron grill similar to this one. A griddle or pan would work fine.

Now this shrimp recipe comes with a different kind of sauce. It starts with garlic, roasted just enough to tame the raw garlicy taste, while bringing to life a great earthy flavor. I chose to go with cilantro, lime juice and wine; but non-cilantro lovers can go for a different fresh herb like dill or parsley.

LET’S GET STARTED AND MAKE THIS GRILLED SHRIMP RECIPE!

Print-friendly recipe to follow…

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F (you’ll need the oven to roast the garlic).

Peel, devein and rinse the prawns. Pat dry with a paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Place the prawns in fridge until ready to grill.

Trim top of the garlic head off; leave the garlic intact and do not peel.  Drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast the garlic in the 400 degrees F-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly tender and fragrant. When ready, remove from oven. Let cool briefly. Peel and crush or chop the garlic finely.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic with the cilantro leaves, lemon juice, white wine and chili sauce (or chili flakes). Whisk together and set aside.

When ready, heat a cast-iron grill or griddle to medium high. Dress the prawns with some olive oil and grill for 3-4 minutes or so on each side. You want to achieve some char, but be careful not to overcook.

Remove from heat and coat the prawns with the roasted garlic and cilantro sauce. Alternatively, serve the sauce on the side instead.

This shrimp is great served tapas-style with your favorite bread and other small plates like thisfattoush salad, creamy hummus, fried eggplant and green peppers, or warm bruschetta. Browse our “Small Plates” section for more ideas.

This shrimp dish is also perfect for dinner with rice and vegetables!  Or, do it Italian-style and add pasta! Simply make more of the sauce (double or even triple the amount) and toss the extra sauce into the just cooked pasta.

4.7 from 10reviews

GRILLED SHRIMP WITH ROASTED GARLIC-CILANTRO SAUCE

 

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PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

16 mins

TOTAL TIME

31 mins

 

Author: The Mediterranean Dish

Recipe type: Appetizer

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 lb uncooked prawns
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
  

Roasted garlic-cilantro sauce:

• 1 small head garlic, top trimmed off
• 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 lime, juice of
• 1 tbsp dry white wine
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp chili sauce (or 1 tbsp dry chili flakes)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Peel, devein and rinse the prawns or your choice of shrimp. Pat dry and season with salt and pepper. Place the prawns in the fridge until ready to grill.
3. Trim the top of the garlic head off, but leave the garlic intact. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Roast the garlic in the 400 degree F-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes or until slightly tender and fragrant. When ready, remove from the oven. Let cool briefly. Peel and crush or chop the roasted garlic as finely as possible.
4. Now prepare the roasted garlic-cilantro sauce. In a small bowl, combine the roasted garlic with the remaining sauce ingredients of cilantro, lime juice, white wine, olive oil and chili sauce. Whisk together and set aside.
5. When ready, lightly oil and heat a cast-iron grill or griddle to medium-high. Dress the prawns with a little olive oil and grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. You want to achieve some char, but be careful not to overcook the prawns.
6. Remove the prawns from the grill to a bowl and coat well with the roasted garlic and cilantro sauce. Transfer to a serving platter. Alternatively, transfer the grilled prawns to a serving platter and simply add the roasted garlic-cilantro sauce on the side.
7. Serve with pasta or rice and a green salad for dinner; or simply as a party appetizer. Enjoy!

NOTES

This is great warm or at room temperature.

Looking for more seafood recipes? Here are some more favorites

Easy Seafood Paella. Super easy, I promise!

Baked Shrimp Stew, a saucy dish from the Holy Land

15-Minute Baked Sole Filet with capers, green onions and a buttery lime sauce

Mediterranean-style Oven Baked Salmon in Foil!

(http://www.themediterraneandish.com/)