This is one of the first appetizers Ali and I came up with. It's a lot of prep work, but it can be done ahead of time with nothing to do but cook the shrimp when your guests arrive. The roasted garlic and leek is a nice surprise and stands up well to the salty prosciutto.
Ingredients
24 Large shrimp, cleaned, peeled
1 Large leek diced (both green and tails on white part)
14 Slices of prosciutto
Sriracha
1 Head of garlic
Make The Paste
Roast the head of garlic (see Garlic Hummus above). Place a sauté pan over medhigh
heat and add EVOO. Once ready, add your diced leeks and salt. Cook the
leeks through stirring often (approx 10 min). Once garlic is roasted and cooled add it to a food processor with the leeks and blend into a paste. You can make the paste up to 5 days ahead.
Assemble The Shrimp
Slice each piece of prosciutto longways, so you now have 28 long strips (24 for the shrimp, 2 to eat and 2 in case they tear). Lay down one strip of prosciutto and place a shrimp on top towards one end. Spread some of the leek and garlic paste over the shrimp. Add a dollop of Sriracha. Then wrap the shrimp up in the prosciutto leaving the tails exposed. Repeat with the rest of the shrimp and refrigerate. This can be done up to 4 hours ahead of cooking.
Cooking The Shrimp
Oil a large sauté pan with EVOO and set over med-high to high heat. You can tell the oil is ready for cooking when it starts to shimmer (1 - 2 min). But be careful, it will go from shimmering to smoking (and burning) very quickly. Once oil is ready, add your shrimp starting at the top of the pan and working clockwise. Cook approx 3 min then turn the shrimp, starting at the top and again working clockwise (this allows the shrimp to cook for relatively the same amount of time). Remove (starting at the top) and serve with a homemade cocktail sauce (see below).
