Spring is here and this time of year I always want to eat lighter things to get ready for summer. These delicious shrimp skewers with gremolata sauce and a bean salad are so good and healthy you will love it. For those that don’t know, gremolata is a sauce similar to chimichurri. The biggest difference is that the gremolata uses lemon instead of red wine vinegar, and has basic ingredients like parsley, garlic and capers. You can whip this together so quickly and it has a wide variety of uses. Put it on top of steak, grilled chicken, even other fish besides shrimp.
For this dish I served the gremolata with oven baked shrimp and did a side bean salad, along with some rice. The meal was a hit and the whole family loved it.
Shrimp with Gremolata Sauce and Bean Salad
(serves 6)
4 Garlic Cloves Whole
8 Tbsp. Fresh Parsley (chopped)
5 Tbsp. Non Pareil Capers (chopped)
3 Tbsp. Lemon zest – About 3 large lemons
¼ cup Fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil.
1 tsp. Salt
2 ½ lbs Deveined Extra Jumbo Shrimp (about 36 shrimp)
8 inch Wood Skewers
Bean Salad
19 oz Can of Cannellini Beans- rinsed and drained
12 oz. – Grape Tomatoes- Sliced in half
2 Baby Cucumbers- about 3.5 oz- Chopped in half moons
2 tbsp. Fresh Chopped Parsley
½ tsp. Salt
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
6 oz. Feta- Cubed
In a small pan, put the olive oil and garlic. Cook on the lowest flame possible until the garlic is fork tender. Let the mixture cool and mash the garlic right into the oil.
In a bowl, add parsley, capers, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and the olive oil and garlic. Mix well and let stand at room temp for a few hours so all the flavors can come together. This can be made well in advance and kept in the refrigerator.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Either place a piece of parchment on a baking sheet or put a baking rack on a baking sheet. Grease either cooking vessel well. Soak the skewers in water for 20 minutes. In the meantime, devein the shrimp, wash and dry well. Pat the skewers with a paper towel to dry them well. Then put the shrimp on the skewers. I usually put five shrimp per skewer. Brush about 1 teaspoon of the gremolata on each skewer and marinate for 20 minutes. If using a baking rack, preheat for 10 minutes in the oven. Place each skewer on the baking rack or parchment and cook for 20 minutes. Then flip the skewers and cook for another 20 minutes.
While that is cooking, assemble your salad. In a bowl, put your beans, cherry tomatoes, baby cucumbers, parsley, salt, olive oil and feta mix as well. Take the shrimp out of the oven and serve it alongside the salad.