Roasted Pesto Shrimp

Now, this is an easy recipe that yields a freshly-flavored favorite hors d’oeuvre.  Since you are simply baking the shrimp in pesto, there’s no need to go through the multi-step process of making your own pesto, rather just buy a pre-made batch from your specialty store — not a grocery store.  Toss, bake and serve at room tempertature.

I prefer extra large shrimp, which means there are 28 shrimp per pound. All seafood stores size their shrimp with their own eyes, so take a look at the picture above for an idea of how large the shrimp should be.

Serves 8, about 3 per guest

Ingredients

• 1 pound of large fresh shrimp that have never seen the freezer, which you or your fish-market have recently peeled and deveined
• Homemade pesto
• 1 bunch of basil leaves for decoration
• Creme Fraiche (it’s like sour cream, but less sour)

Making It

• Toss enough pesto to coat the peeled and deveined shrimp, but leave the tails on, and put in the refrigerator for 4 hours to let the flavors blend
• Take 5 tablespoons of creme fraiche and mix it with 3 tablespoons of pesto for a dipping sauce

Time to Cook

• Set oven to 400 degrees with the rack in the middle
• Take shrimp and put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper
• Spread shrimp evenly and roast for 5 minutes and remove from oven
• Turn scrimp over and place back in oven for 5 minutes, until just cooked (they will continue to cook outside of the oven)
• Let rest and serve with creme fraiche pesto dip

Alternatively you can grill the shrimp, about 3 minutes each side until pink