In this light salad, farro is used in place of the conventional bulgur. This yields either 2 servings of a main meal or 4 serves of sides. Allow 3 to 4 hours for the flavors to meld before serving for the finest flavor.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 8 mins |
| Total Time: | 28 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 32 pieces |
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, or as needed
- 2 pounds raw shrimp (16-20 per pound)
- 3 cloves garlic
- kosher salt to taste
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 1 cup plain dry bread crumbs
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Carefully remove shells and legs of prawns; leave the tail attached. To butterfly the prawns, cut a slit with a small sharp knife lengthwise down the belly side of shrimp, almost to the skin on the back. Open out like a book.
- Place chopped garlic, large pinch kosher salt, oregano, and thyme in a mortar; pound and stir with a pestle a few seconds. Add 1 tablespoon fresh parsley. Pound and stir mixture until it turns into a paste, 1 or 2 minutes. Add 1/3 cup olive oil; mix about 1 minute to infuse olive oil with herbs and garlic.
- Place bread crumbs in a mixing bowl. Transfer herb-garlic mixture to breadcrumbs. Add a pinch of salt, black pepper, pinch cayenne, remaining chopped parsley, and grated cheese. Mix with a fork to distribute ingredients evenly. Pinch a bit of the mixture; if it feels a bit dry and doesn’t stick to your finger, drizzle in a bit more olive oil. Stir until mixture reaches desired consistency. 2 to 3 minutes.
- Lightly but thoroughly coat cut side of prawns with crumb mixture; place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in preheated oven until cooked through and tails curl up, 8 to 10 minutes.
- You can serve these prawns with any number of dips or just a squeeze of fresh lemon. I like them with lemon aioli.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 260 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 11 g |
| Cholesterol | 177 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 3 g |
| Sodium | 476 mg |
| Sugars | 1 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Since I don’t have a mortar/pestle- took FrackFamily5 suggestion and pounded in a zip lock bag using the flat side of my meat tenderizer. Great idea! Followed ingredients and steps exact. As others have stated, butterflying the shrimp is tedious but the results won’t disappoint!! Huge hit! Thanks again Chef John!
So ridiculous yummy. I love anything recommended by Chef John
I loved these, but they did take a long time to prepare. The only ingredient change I made was melted butter in place of the oil in the crumb (personal preference). Even though I had given myself plenty of prep time I was running low on time, so after the prawns were deveined and shells removed, I lay them single layer on the baking tray and pressed the crumb of them without worrying if they were butterflied open. I served these for dinner alongside a spiced cauliflower rice bowl and everyone ate them up (even my hubby had a few when he doesn’t eat seafood, so they must have been good!).
Instead of a 1/3 cup of olive oil I used 1/4, came out great, not greasy.
Chef John is the best. If you can read and follow directions…you will be tbe best cook in the neighborhood. I promise. This prawns recipe is AWESOME! I paired mine with a fried rice and salad……….
“Just they way it is!” Taste, texture, time, triumph! We hosted an early evening with our friends for 25 years and we all hail from coastal cities, Seattle, San Fransisco, San Diego. The crown of delight goes to the Prawn Provincial !! Thank you Chef John. As I was performing the tedious slicing surgery I laughed out loud as I recalled Chef John said “only 100 more to do!!!” I was relieved to know I only had about 25. Taste, texture, timing = triumph. We had some crab stuffed salmon steaks and the Prawn Provincial…and the Prawns captured the flag. We’ll do it again and again. Patrick
I have loved Asian foods forever, and I love using Chinese mustard as an “optional” dip whenever I serve these! Converted a lot of friends to the more savory options when eating seafoods! One thing I do first, is to devein shrimp with a toothpick prior the butterflying. It’s something I was taught to do in Culinary School 50 years ago.
This is so easy and so delicious. Butterflying the shrimp is not a big deal. We have this as a main entree and not an appetizer. Followed the recipe exactly.
No changes, and yes I’ll make it again!
Perhaps I used too much breading, but to us, it overpowered the shrimp.
I have made this several times now and it is just DELICIOUS! when I’m feeling lazy I don’t butterfly the shrimp and just coat them whole. Works just as good and saves a ton of time!
Thanks to Chef John. Another ten star dish.
Chef john is right. Butterflying those prawns is a PAIN. I don’t have a mortar so I put my garlic and herbs in a plastic bag and pressed and rocked the flat side of my meat tenderizer over the bag until they were mush. Worked great. The breadcrumb mixture was so good. I subbed melted butter for the oil. Kids RAVED. Loved this one.
I added more breadcrumbs on the prawns.
We love this recipe and it will definitely become a family favorite. Tasty and healthy
I made these last night with BC spot prawns. Great flavour. They looked impressive and tasted the same.
These were EXCELLENT! I followed the recipe exactly as described. Wouldn’t change a thing. My kids couldn’t get enough. Thanks Chef!
I used this for shrimp as well as fish. I coated the fish with mayonnaise and then put breading on it. Also added fresh rosemary. Super good!!!