A Family That Eats Together: Grilled Shrimp Flatbread with Chickpea Puree and Cilantro Pesto

Marin Mommies presents this week's guest recipe from Nicole Cibellis, Marin mom and author of the blog A Family that Eats Together, where she shares meal plans and recipes that will please foodies and children alike. Nicole is also the creator of the new Little Froglet line of children's activewear.

Nicole's meal plan for this week features one-pot Asian chicken with rice and bok choy, rice with grilled summer squash, fusilli with olive and pancetta, tortilla soup, and this grilled shrimp flatbread with chickpea puree and cilantro pesto.

In the summer, I am always looking for light and healthy meals that don’t have to be cooked indoors. This is a quick and easy recipe, which can be made in minutes if you own a food processor. Just use the same food processor bowl for both the pesto and puree, making the pesto first. Also, make sure to buy peeled and deveined shrimp. Doing it yourself is time consuming and who wants to deal with the mess?

Recipe adapted from Bobby Flay.

Servings: 6–8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound shrimp: peeled, deveined and tails removed
• 6–8 premade flatbread (found with the tortillas in most grocery stores)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cilantro Pesto:

• 2 cups cilantro leaves
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Chickpea Puree:

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon chipotle in adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 cup tahini

Directions

1. Place all ingredients for the cilantro pesto in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place in a bowl.
2. In the same food processor, place all ingredients for the chickpea puree and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Season shrimp with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Salt and pepper, to taste. Heat grill to medium. Place shrimp on grill and cook for about 1 minute per side until the flesh is pink and no longer transparent. Do not over cook, as they will get tough.
4. If you have a gas range, place flatbread over burner on medium to slightly char and warm. If you do not, just heat them in a microwave or toaster oven.
5. Assemble Flatbreads with puree spread over flatbread. Top with shrimp and pesto.