Enjoy these delightful Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Shrimp Appetizer at your Feast of the Seven Fishes. Jumbo shrimp are stuffed with a cream cheese mixture, wrapped in prosciutto, and baked to perfection!
What is the Feast of the Seven Fishes? Known as Festa dei sette pesci in Italian, it is an Italian-American tradition of eating fish and other seafood (typically seven dishes) that occurs on Christmas Eve. This custom is celebrated widely by Italian-Americans, but actually very little in regions of Italy outside southern Italy where fish is more plentiful. The eating of fish, or seafood, on Christmas Eve also has a religious foundation and can be tied to Catholicism and abstaining from meat and dairy on high holidays.
Now that you have a little bit of background on this Italian celebration, let’s talk FOOD! Feast of the Seven Fishes is one of my favorite celebrations of the year and the planning process starts early for me trying to decide which dishes I want to make. One dish that never changes is this Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Shrimp Appetizer. Not only is it easy to make, it might be my favorite seafood dish of all time. With a little bit of prep work – it can be yours, too!
Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Shrimp Appetizer
You don’t have to be Italian to enjoy the mix of flavors in this appetizer, but you do need access to jumbo shrimp. I’ve attempted to recreate the recipe without them, and plain and simple, it doesn’t work out quite as nicely.
Ingredients
- 12-15 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 1 block cream cheese
- 2 jalapeños, finely diced
- 4 artichoke hearts, finely diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 dash salt, pepper
- 12-15 pieces of fresh, thinly-sliced prosciutto
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Pat shrimp dry with a clean paper towel.
- In a bowl, combine cream cheese, jalapeños, artichoke hearts, garlic, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Using a sharp knife, slice open the shrimp creating an interior "pocket".
- Place one dollop (about 1 tbsp) of cream cheese mixture into shrimp.
- Wrap a full piece of prosciutto around each piece of shrimp, leaving only the tail exposed.
- Arrange shrimp so they appear to "stand up" in a baking dish, which allows prosciutto to crisp.
- Cook for 20-30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Remove from oven and enjoy!
Notes
Home Chef Tip: To make this recipe dairy free, use Kite Hill Vegan Cream Cheese. Once baked, you can't even tell the difference!
This recipe is so simple, yet packed full of flavor. Not only is it my favorite Feast dish, but I often whip it up for parties and get-togethers throughout the year because it’s a crowd pleaser each and every time. Another great thing is that it can be customized to meet and match food allergies or distastes. Subbing in dairy-free cream cheese, onions for artichokes, etc. is a great way to make this recipe your own. Buona Festa!
We hope you love this Prosciutto-Wrapped Stuffed Shrimp Appetizer from SoFabFood Home Chef, Kait from CommuniKait, as much as we do. If you love this recipe, be sure to check out our appetizer section for more like it. For daily recipe inspiration, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
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