Lemon, Herb and Garlic Buttery Baked Shrimp

This may sound strange, but I actually cooked one of my husband's favorite foods for our Mother's Day dinner.  He loves shrimp. And, since he is gone for work out of state for four days straight {Monday through Thursday} every week right now, I knew I wanted to do something while he was home with the shrimp I had purchased this weekend.

 

 

Don't worry - I was pampered throughout the day in other ways. Breakfast in bed. Foot rubs from the kids. Lots of homemade cards. And, a lot of household chores done by the kids and hubby {they even cleaned the bathroom and did all of the laundry}. It was a fabulous day.

Following this recipe will yield you perfectly-cooked, tender shrimp in an over-the-top, buttery garlic, lemon and herb sauce that screams out to bread for dipping. The shrimp and sauce are great served over pasta, too.

Serves 4.


Ingredients:

1 pound shrimp {26 - 30 per pound}, peeled, deveined, tails left on and patted dry
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
4 - 5 fresh thyme sprigs
1 teaspoon dried oregano
A pinch crushed red pepper flakes
4 - 5 garlic cloves, skins left on and one end cut off *
1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 lemon, cut into thin slices

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Pour oil into a medium baking dish {mine was a 12-inch round}.

Add butter, thyme sprigs, oregano, red pepper flakes, garlic cloves, black pepper and half of the lemon slices.

Bake in oven until oil mixture is fragrant and garlic has softened - about 12 - 15 minutes.

Remove from oven. Add shrimp. Lay on remaining lemon slices.

Bake for 7 - 8 minutes until shrimp are just turning pink and firm. {Remember - they will continue to cook for a few minutes once removed from oven.}

Halfway through cooking, open oven and quickly give shrimp a toss while ladling some of the cooking juices onto shrimp.

Remove from oven. Remove and discard cooked thyme sprigs.

Sprinkle on salt. Garnish with additional fresh lemon slices and/or thyme sprigs, if desired.

Serve immediately.

*NOTE:  I leave the garlic in its skin so that it does not burn while baking.  Once the dish is done baking, I remove the garlic from its skin.  We mash it a bit and spread it on our bread slices in addition to dipping the bread in the baking juices/oil.


07/0/17:  Updated photos and made clarifications to post/recipe.

 

Adapted from Oui, Chef.