Bacon Wrapped Crab Cake Stuffed Shrimp with a Creamy Pesto Sauce
Ingredients
Scale
- Stuffed Shrimp:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 green onions (finely chopped)
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 T half and half
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- Dash cayenne pepper
- ½ cup saltine cracker crumbs
- 2 T Mayonnaise
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 1 pound crabmeat (picked over)
- 24 jumbo shrimp (peeled, deveined, tails on)
- 12 slices bacon
- steamed white rice (for serving)
- Basil Cream Sauce:
- 1 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 clove garlic (minced)
- 1/2 cup diced onions
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 teaspoon chicken base
- 3 T Prepared Pesto (used: Bertolli)
- 1 teaspoon butter
- 1 teaspoon all purpose flour
Instructions
- Stuffed Shrimp:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat and cook onions, green pepper and garlic until peppers are limp.
- Place in mixing bowl and add half and half, mustard and cayenne pepper to sauteed vegetables, mix well.
- Add cracker crumbs, mayonnaise, egg, parsley and lemon juice; mix well.
- Gently fold in crab meat.
- Form into small patties sized to stuff into shrimp; set aside.
- Split shrimp down the bottom center to tail, being careful not to cut through.
- Stuff each shrimp with crab meat mixture.
- Wrap shrimp in bacon and secure with a toothpick.
- Place on a baking pan and cook at 350 degrees until bacon is crisp and shrimp are pink, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- To serve, arrange 4 shrimp on each plate on a bed of rice, if desired.
- Drizzle with Basil Cream Sauce.
- Creamy Pesto Sauce:
- Heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, add onion and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes; add garlic and sauté lightly.
- Add white wine and reduce by half.
- Add half and half and chicken base and reduce by half again.
- In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon butter and 1 teaspoon flour.
- Mash with a fork or fingers until a paste forms (this will be your “roux”).
- Add pesto and roux; bring to a simmer and heat until slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Notes
Adapted from Paula Deen