Fresh, bright, delicious! This is one of my favorite recipes for the summer. It’s so simple, but the way the bay and lemon complement the shrimp is just perfect. It’s really easy to make, too. Sometimes I buy my shrimp already peeled and deveined because it saves a fair amount of time and effort. If you don’t mind peeling and deveining, though, you can save a bit of money by doing it yourself. You’ll also save some time if you have access to fresh bay leaves. If you’re using dried ones you’ll need to soak them overnight so they won’t burn up on the grill.

How many lemons and bay leaves you’ll need depends on the size shrimp you buy. My shrimp fit about six to the skewer. Ideally, each shrimp is sandwiched between a lemon wedge and a bay leaf. I used four lemon wedges and three bay leaves per skewer, and about four skewers for a pound of shrimp. That meant a total of 16 lemon wedges and 12 bay leaves. It’s best to have a few spares, though, since the number of shrimp and the size of the skewers can vary. This night, I only had enough lemons for a single batch, but I was making a double batch because we had company. That’s why my lemon wedges are so small. You can stretch the bay leaves, too, by breaking them in half. This is definitely a company-worthy dish, if your company isn’t shy about skewers.

You’ll find a printer-friendly version of the recipe, which was adapted from Cooking Light August 2004, at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients:

3 – 4 lemons

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper `

½ tsp “crushers” (crushed red pepper)

1 pound large shrimp, peeled & deveined

20 – 30 dried bay leaves  (or fresh, which don’t need to be soaked)

8 ten-inch wooden skewers soaked in water

Preparation:

1.) If you’re using dried bay leaves, start them soaking in water 24 hours ahead of time.

2.) Juice the smallest lemon. Put 2 Tbsp of the juice in a large bowl, reserving the rest for another use.  Mince the garlic and add it to the bowl, along with the oil, salt, pepper, and crushers.

3.) Add the shrimp to the bowl, toss to coat, and set aside for ten minutes. Drain the bay leaves (if you’ve soaked them), reserving the water. I like to freeze the bay-water for later. It’s perfect for Sauerbraten Pork Chops. Cut the remaining lemons into wedges — ideally, 8 wedges per lemon, so the pieces will be a bit bigger than in the photo.

4.) Thread the skewers: Lemon first, stabbing through the rind, then shrimp, then bay, then shrimp, then lemon, etc. This way, each shrimp touches both lemon and bay. I had leftover lemons, so put them on a skewer, too. The hot lemon juice is wonderful, squeezed over the cooked shrimp.

5.) Preheat your grill on high, and lightly coat it with oil. Place the skewers on the grill, and cook about 2 minutes per side, or until pink.