Go Back
–+ servings
Print Recipe
5 from 4 votes

Grilled Shrimp and Bread with Cilantro Pesto

Course: Main Course, Dinner
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Servings: 4
Author: Gaby

Ingredients

For the Cilantro Sauce

  • 1 shallot roughly chopped
  • 2 cups tightly packed fresh cilantro leaves stems removed (about 4 ounces)
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon salt

For the Grilled Shrimp and Bread

  • 2 lbs medium shrimp peeled and de-veined
  • Wooden skewers soaked in water or metal
  • 1 loaf of bread sliced into 1 1/2 inch pieces on a bias
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 1 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • olive oil for drizzling
  • 3 lemons halved and grilled

Instructions

For the Cilantro Sauce

  • Combine all the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend for 60 seconds until very smooth. Taste and adjust salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately. Or you can refrigerate the vinaigrette for up to 5 days.

For the Grilled Shrimp and Bread

  • Thread about 6 shrimp on each of the soaked wooden skewers and set them on a large plate of cutting board while skewering the rest.
  • Drizzle about 1/3 of the vinaigrette over the skewered shrimp along with the juice of the lemon, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper. Set the shrimp aside to marinate for about 10-20 minutes while you prepare your grill.
  • Arrange the thick slices of bread on a large platter and drizzle liberally with olive oil.
  • Prepare your gas or charcoal grill to medium high heat. Place the pieces of bread over the heat and grill for a few moments on each side until the bread has grill marks. Using a pair of tongs, flip the bread over and let the other side grilled for a minute or so more until both sides have nice grill marks. Remove the bread from the grill and set aside.
  • Place the shrimp skewers on the grill over medium high heat and grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side until the shrimp are pink. Remove the skewers from the grill and set aside.
  • Serve the shrimp and bread with the remaining cilantro vinaigrette and grilled lemon halves.

Notes

I like to grilled some extra lemons too! Just halve the lemons, throw them on the grill until they get some nice charred markets and then remove them for later!