Shrimp Francesca

Francesca is a genius. She won an award for this and I see why. This shrimp dish is DIVINE, like something from a fancy restaurant. :D If you like shrimp you HAVE give this recipe a try. It's so good and EASY! I don't normally like canned artichoke hearts, but they were so good. The shrimp is pretty rich; I drooled as I chewed. :D Mmmmmm....Serve hot over hot angel hair pasta (I'd suggest white, wheat pasta is a little to heavy with shrimp) lightly coated in butter and seasoned with garlic salt and freshly ground black pepper and a steamed vegetable. Serves 4.

Shrimp Francesca

1 lb fresh uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined*
1 8-oz can artichoke hearts, drained
1/2 c Italian seasoned bread crumbs**
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
juice of 1 lemon (2-3 Tbsp)
6 Tbsp butter
10 garlic cloves, minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp finely shredded imported Romano cheese or grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease 9x13 baking dish.
2. Arrange shrimp on bottom of baking dish. Gently squeeze any liquid out of each artichoke heart and break into quarters, arranging in spaces between shrimp. Sprinkle parsley and breadcrumbs over shrimp and artichoke. Sprinkle lemon juice over crumbs.
3. Melt butter with garlic in small sauce pan over medium heat; drizzle butter over breadcrumbs. Sprinkle Romano or Parmesan cheese evenly on top.
4. Bake uncovered until crumbs and cheese are lightly browned and shrimp turns orange-pink, 10-12 minutes.

* You can use frozen and defrosted but I'd highly recommend fresh shrimp. The texture and taste are so much better.
** to make 1/2 c Italian breadcrumbs, mix 1/2 c bread crumbs, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp dried parsley, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp dried oregano, 1/8 tsp dried basil.