I haven’t always loved shrimp. The texture used to really get to me. When I was pregnant with my first daughter we were living in Boise, Idaho. There is a great Japanese-style restaurant there called Kyotos. The first time we went my husband and I decided to split the shrimp and steak (meaning he would eat all the shrimp, and I would eat the steak because I was a beef-craving pregnant woman). It’s a fun place where they cook your food right in front of you and do all sorts of great tricks. When the food was on our plates, it looked delicious. I decided to try one bite of shrimp. It was unbelievable. I continued to eat most of it, while my husband watched open-mouthed! Since then I’ve been a big fan of shrimp. Besides tasting delicious (if prepared correctly) a 4 oz. serving of shrimp contains only 112 calories, with 24 g of protein and 1.2 g of fat. It is also high in the amino acid Tryptophan, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, and contains more than 60 percent of your daily needs of selenium. Selenium enhances immunity, thyroid function, and reproduction. Shrimp is fabulous.

I have been trying to find a good recipe for lemon-garlic shrimp skewers. I was surprised at the lack of recipes. I couldn’t find what I was looking for and finally combined a few recipes.

Oven Roasted Garlic Shrimp Skewers (adapted from For the Love of Cooking)

1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deviened
5 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T fresh parsley, minced
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp Dijon mustard
juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 tsp lemon zest
2 T olive oil
2 tsp sea salt

Rinse shrimp well under cold water. Sprinkle with 2 tsp sea salt and toss to coat. Chill in fridge for 30 minutes. Combine garlic, parsley, mustard, lemon juice, zest, and olive oil in large ziploc bag. Take shrimp from the fridge and rinse well. Add to bag and move around to coat the shrimp. Place in fridge for 1-2 hours.

Soak wooden skewers in cold water for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375.

When shrimp have marinated, remove from bag. Skewer each shrimp through the tail and head, forming a C shape. Place on a wire rack over a baking pan lined with foil. Bake in oven for 8 minutes, turning half way. Shrimp are done when they are pink outside and opaque on the inside.

Serve immediately.

Thoughts:

These shrimp were great. I only had one skewer, but my husband made sure the rest didn’t go to waste. I don’t generally enjoy the taste of mustard, but it went well here. I decided to skewer some mushrooms and red peppers to go with it. I basted them with some butter half way through. It was a light but filling meal that I will make again. I’m on the lookout for more delicious shrimp recipes.