These Mediterranean Garlic Shrimp are made with loads of garlic to give them tons of mouthwatering flavor. Best served with pasta or fresh bread.
I love every kind of seafood I can think of. Fish, shellfish, cooked, raw – if it comes from the sea, I’ll probably eat it.
But at home when I make seafood, it’s most often shrimp. Shrimp is easy to prepare, cooks very quickly, is relatively affordable, and easily accessible. I prepare shrimp in a number of ways, but when I feel like something garlicky, I make these Mediterranean Garlic Shrimp.
Admittedly, these mouthwatering, rich, garlicky shrimp take a little longer to prepare than other shrimp recipes, mainly because the recipe involves prepping a large amount of garlic in a number of different ways.
First, whole cloves are slowly cooked in olive oil to infuse the oil with the strong flavor of garlic. Then the shrimp is marinated with minced garlic and salt. Finally, the rest of the garlic is thinly sliced and sauteed with the shrimp.
The results are totally worth the extra effort if you’re a garlic lover like me. I always make sure I serve this dish with a high quality crusty bread to sop up any extra oil, but it would be good over pasta as well.
Mediterranean Garlic Shrimp Nutrition Notes:
Don’t be afraid of the relatively large amount of oil used in this recipe. The fat in olive oil is unsaturated, which means it’s a healthy type of fat.
Shrimp do contribute cholesterol to our diet (eating one serving of this garlic shrimp will give you about 143mg of cholesterol), but dietary cholesterol doesn’t raise “bad” LDL cholesterol as much as we once thought it did. So don’t be afraid to indulge in shrimp or other seafood, even if you are watching your cholesterol levels (unless it’s deep fried, in which case it’s likely high in trans fats which does contribute to higher LDL cholesterol).
Serve these mouthwatering garlic shrimp over pasta or with fresh bread to dip in the extra garlicky oil. Add a green salad to make a complete meal.
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Mediterranean Garlic Shrimp
Ingredients
- 12 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 pound large or jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined, and tails removed
- 6 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 dried mild chile (eg. guajillo – see note), broken into pieces
- 1 1/2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Mince two of the garlic cloves. Toss with the shrimp and 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil the salt and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, crush 4 of the garlic cloves with a rolling pin or the flat side of a chef's knife. Cook the remaining 4 Tablespoons of oil in and the crushed a 12 inch skillet over medium low heat until the garlic is lightly browned. Remove from heat and allow the garlic and oil to cool. Remove the garlic from the oil with a slotted spoon, squeezing out any excess oil into the skillet. Discard the garlic.
- Thinly slice the remaining 6 cloves of garlic. Add the sliced garlic, bay leaf, and chile to the skillet with the oil and cook over medium heat until the garlic is softened, but not browned, about 5 minutes.
- Add the shrimp and marinade to the skillet and cook until the oil starts to bubble and the bottoms of the shrimp turn pink, about 2-3 minutes. Flip the shrimp and continue to cook until almost cooked through, 2 more minutes.
- Turn the heat to high, and stir in the vinegar and parsley. Cook, stirring constantly, until the shrimp are cooked through, about 30 seconds. Remove the bay leaf and serve immediately. Best if served with bread to dip in the garlicky olive oil.
Notes
Nutrition
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