This easy shrimp oreganata recipe is made in just one pan! Make sure to read the recipe before getting started and get all your ingredients ready, because it comes together fast.
2tablespoonsdry white winenot cooking wine, see notes for substitutions
1tablespoonlemon juice
1cupItalian breadcrumbs(or up to 1.5 cups if you want extra breadcrumbs)
¼cupfreshly grated Pecorino-Romanoor Parmigiana or any other sharp hard Italian cheese
Optional: red pepper flakes
Optional: ½ lemon + ½ tablespoon unsalted butterboth sliced
Instructions
Season shrimp lightly with salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
In an oven-safe, broil-safe large pan (such as enamel cast iron), heat the olive oil and butter. Add the minced garlic and cook over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the garlic starts to brown. Don't let it burn!
Add the fresh oregano and dried oregano, and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the oregano smells fragrant. Add the white wine and lemon juice, and stir. Turn off heat / remove from heat.
Use a spoon to carefully spoon out half the sauce and spoon it on top of the shrimp. Toss the shrimp in the sauce.
Add the breadcrumbs to the rest of the sauce in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the breadcrumbs are coated in the sauce and starting to get toasted. Don't let them burn. If the breadcrumbs are very dry, drizzle in ½ - 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Stir in the freshly grated Pecorino-Romano and red pepper flakes (if using).
Remove half the breadcrumbs and set aside in a bowl or plate. Spread the remaining breadcrumbs around the pan evenly. Carefully arrange the shrimp in the pan, overlapping the tails if needed, but trying to keep it mostly single layer.
Top the uncooked shrimp with the rest of the breadcrumbs. Optional: top the breadcrumbs with lemon slices and pats of sliced butter. It's not necessary, just looks fancy!
Transfer to the middle rack in the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then broil for 1-2 minutes, or until the shrimp is fully cooked (pink on the inside and 120F) and the breadcrumbs start to brown - watch them so they don't burn! If the breadcrumbs brown before the shrimp is fully cooked, turn off the broiler and leave the shrimp in the oven for 1-2 minutes. Serve warm, garnishing with fresh oregano and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Notes
If you don't have a 12-inch broiler-safe pan, then for Step 8 transfer the breadcrumbs and shrimp to a broil-safe 9x13-inch baking dish. A 12-inch pan is just enough to fit 2lb of shrimp very tightly. Seasoned Italian breadcrumbs are pretty salty, so I don't add too much salt to the rest of the recipe. If you want to cut down on salt, substitute plain breadcrumbs for half of the seasoned Italian breadcrumbs.White wine: Use dry white wine, not cooking wine. If using cooking wine, substitute some of the breadcrumbs for plain breadcrumbs, because cooking wine has added salt and the mixture will be too salty. Skip the wine: If you don't want to use wine at all, you can skip it and add an extra tablespoon of olive oil or add some chicken broth to make extra sauce/broth.Want to make an oregano broth? I'm not a big fan of soggy breadcrumbs, so I typically don't make a broth for the shrimp oreganata and instead make the breadcrumbs extra flavorful with fresh and dried oregano. If you do want the shrimp swimming in a broth, then add 1-1.5 cups of chicken broth to the portion of the breadcrumbs in the pan (Step 8) before topping with shrimp and remaining breadcrumbs, then bake with the chicken broth. The breadcrumbs soaked in the garlicky broth will thicken the broth and make it great for dipping garlic bread when serving.