Roasted Shrimp with Lemon, Chili, Tomatoes, and Basil

by Karen Lenahan, Small Kitchen Big Taste

Happy Fourth of July!! I hope everyone is relaxing, barbecueing, and enjoying a lovely day off. Now, while this isn’t a holiday “themed” recipe, it has all the things I love about easy and festive cooking for a crowd. It’s simple, (not that many ingredients) fast, interactive, won’t break the bank, and won’t leave you not enjoying your own party!!

This shrimp dish has some of my absolute favorite flavors in it, and I treated myself to some Chabaso STIX to sop up the garlicky goodness – if you haven’t heard of these…oh.em.geeee. ECM has them, and these particular stix are the roasted garlic ciabatta stix. Yes, you heard me right – gorgeous, oozy, velvety roasted garlic cloves are abundant in these perfect little ciabatta stix, and I can’t get enough of them.

In fact, I have to ration myself, because it really becomes a problem when I have them in the house. But anyways, I digress. Make this soon, and enjoy with your family and/or friends!

Roasted Shrimp with Lemon, Chili, Tomatoes, and Basil

• 1 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 T extra virgin olive oil
• 1 fresh lemon
• two large handfuls grape tomatoes (a little less than one pint)
• 1/2 of one jalapeno or other fresh chili that you like
• 2 cloves garlic, rough chopped
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• salt and and pepper to taste
• 5-6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Preheat the oven to 375°F (or, if you don’t want to heat up your kitchen, turn you grill on to medium high.)

Here is the best part: throw everything except the basil into an oven proof or cast iron skillet, toss around, and throw in the oven/on the grill (make sure you close the grill). Cook for 8-12 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and opaque.

When done, throw on the basil, and serve with hunks of fresh bread, right out of the skillet.

Enjoy!!

Karen Lenahan, born and raised in New Haven and Hamden, has had a food blog, Small Kitchen Big Taste going on three years. She is a passionate foodie, and loves bringing healthy and delicious food to her table, and inspiring you to bring it to yours.