Shrimp Oreganata is the fourth course in my families Feast the Seven Fishes is an Italian American tradition that we’ve been doing in my family for over 70 years. It is absolutely my favorite night of the year. I usually have about 50 people for a sit down seven course fish dinner. It’s a lot of work, but the joy it gives me to do this far outweighs the effort. Growing up I could remember helping my grandfather prepare the fish. I would help him clean it, and assist in the preparation. The time spent with him was invaluable to me. These days my aunts and I all collaborate on the cooking as we get up in the wee hours of Christmas Eve to start the meal.
Shrimp Oreganata
(serves 6)
42 Jumbo Shrimp Deveined and Butterflied – Tails on
¾ Cups Plain Bread Crumbs
¾ Cups Pecorino Romano Cheese Grated
2 Tbsp. Chopped Garlic
2 Tbsp. Chopped Parsley
1 Tsp. Salt
¼ tsp. Oregano
Zest 3 Lemons
6 Tbsp. Olive Oil plus extra to coat the pan
Sauce
1/2 Cup White Wine
2/3 Cup Lemon Juice
1 Cup Clam Juice
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
4 tbsp. Butter- Sliced the cut up into 42 tiny pieces
Preheat the oven to 375 Degrees. Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil. In a bowl combine the bread crumbs, grated cheese, chopped garlic, chopped parsley, salt, oregano and lemon zest. Mix well and add olive oil.
Coat the bottom of your glass bottom Pyrex dish with some olive oil. I actually use two pans for this. If you do not have a Pyrex you can use a shallow baking pan. Arrange the shrimp in the pan with the tails up. Leave a little space between each shrimp. Fill the butterflied portion of the shrimp with about 1 tsp of bread crumb mixture.
In a measuring cup combine white wine, lemon juice, clam juice and salt and olive oil. Pour the mixture slowly around the perimeter of each shrimp, coating the bottom of the pan. Put a small pat of butter on each shrimp.
Cover with aluminum foil and put shrimp in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they start to turn pink. Remove foil and cook for about another 15 minutes or until shrimp is cooked thru. You can even put shrimp under the broiler to make the bread crumbs extra crispy.