Herb-Marinated Shrimp Wrapped in Basil & Prosciutto

Things I shouldn't do: 

1. I shouldn't blog while hungry. Always ends badly. Think me in the pantry eating Swedish fish and Pirate's Booty (yes, I have a 5 year old).

2. I shouldn't shoot my blog photos while hungry. Always ends with photos that are not as beautiful as I would hope for. Photos that are passable (today's photos), but kinda sloppy because all I wanted was to consume the photo's subject.

Things I should do:

1. Find out why peanuts keep coming out of the washer at the end of each cycle. My children don't eat peanuts. I don't store them in my pockets. I don't have a pet elephant. Strange.

2. Cook more things on skewers. Or "kabobs" as us Midwesterners call it.

3. Make more should and shouldn't lists.

Aside from should and shouldn't lists, you definitely SHOULD use up the last of your summer basil and grill it! Oh, the flavor. Oh, the trio of shrimp, prosciutto and basil. AAAAAAA - that's a choir of angels signing praise when this hits your tongue.

Do you want to be really smart? No, I mean like a savant on Ritalin. Like, really, really smart?  Before you skewer your shrimp, line them up in rows. Like this.

Then skewer them. You are really smart.

 

Basil Tree.  That's all I can say about that.

I just scattered the basil over the shrimp (see above note about being sloppy), but you could skewer the basil in between the shrimp. That would be smart. Smarter than when you lined up the shrimp to be skewered.  

Or you could individually skewer these shrimps onto toothpicks. OOOO. That would be uber-smart. 

'Cuz mine were seriously sloppy. But seriously yummy. And my mouth didn't know the difference. Neither did my husband. He was a happy hubby. Dinner's served.

 

Printable Recipe Here

Herb-Marinated Shrimp Wrapped in Basil & Prosciutto

serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side

prep time: 25 minutes, active + up to 1 hour, inactive

cook time: 6-10 minutes

Marinade: 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 clove fresh garlic, minced

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, minced

1/4 teaspoon each salt & freshly ground pepper

1 pound shrimp, extra-large - cleaned, shelled and de-veined

Kabobs:

Marinated shrimp

1 package prosciutto (about 12 slices)

20-30 leaves basil

Marinate the shrimp: In a non-reactive, shallow dish whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, zest, garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Add shrimp, toss. Marinate for 30 minutes, up to 1 hour. Stirring once. 

Make the kabobs: On a large work surface lay out the marinated shrimp in groups of about 5 pieces of shrimp, stacking the shrimp on top of each other. Skewer the shrimp with a bamboo or metal skewer. Move skewers aside. On the same work surface lay pieces of prosciutto in rows; use 2 pieces of prosciutto per kabob. Place skewered shrimp on top of prosciutto, scatter with basil and gently wrap prosciutto around shrimp and basil.

Grill the kabobs: Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Place shrimp kabobs on to hot grill. Grill on each side, about 3 minutes. Remove and serve hot or room temperature.