Crab Stuffed Shrimp with a Creamy Basil Garlic Sauce

These delightful extra large fresh water shrimp are perfect for stuffing. Just like Forest Gump, I love my shrimp cooked any which way, but these full-bodied shrimp are full of crab with a wonderful garlicy and lemon taste to them.

Wrapped in bacon to hold in all the flavourful stuffing, these tasty shrimp can be served as an appetizer or as an entree.

Zesty, tangy and rich….they are truly tempting to your taste buds!

Ingredients

10 uncooked freshwater shrimp ( extra large – 12-15 count shells on )
1 can crab meat, drained
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp worchestshire sauce
2 tsp dijon mustard
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped finely or pressed
1/2 green onion, chopped finely
1 egg
1 tsp chilli peppers or 1 tsp crushed chillies from the jar
1 tbsp parsley dried or fresh chopped
salt and pepper to taste
5 strips of lean bacon – slice in half

Basil Garlic Sauce

2 tbsp butter
1 tsp garlic powder or garlic plus, or minced fresh garlic
2-3 tsp prepared pesto ( olive oil garlic pesto is what I used )
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup milk or cream
1/4 white wine or cooking wine
1 tsp parsley
black pepper

Add the butter to a small sauce pan and heat. Add the milk and wine and the remainder of the ingredients. Cook on a medium heat then add the cornstarch ( in cold water ) to the sauce. Allow to thicken for a few minutes.

Prepare

Remove shells from the shrimp, keeping the tail in tact. Set aside on a plate. Mix together all of the stuffing ingredients.

Open the backs of the shrimp where they are already sliced. Begin addin the stuffing to the shrimp and add as much as necessary for a full looking shrimp. ( There might be some leftover stuffing so make sure you use as much as you like. Place each shrimp on half of the strip of bacon and wrap around the shrimp and secure with a toothpic.

Once the shrimp are done, place them on a rack or tray in order to allow the fat to drip from the bacon. Place them in a 350 degree pre-heated oven and cook for approximately 20 – 30 minutes. ( I did not turn them but you can gently turn them on the side if the bacon is not cooking as well on the bottom. )

Turn on the broiler for approximately 10 minutes in order to brown the stuffing and to crisp up the bacon.

Serve with the creamy basil garlic sauce and lemon wedges. Garnish with parsley.

Serves 2- 4