I usually don’t cook Italian recipes too often but every once in a while (read: whenever I have fresh pasta), I get inspired. Usually, a lot of the recipes I end up liking involve oven use or an extended period of time on the stove (tomato sauce is definitely a Sunday during football season recipe).
This time was a bit different. While over in Somerville, I asked the kind lady cutting my pasta at Dave’s to recommend something to prepare and before I could finish, she suggested shrimp scampi, which she was conveniently cooking that night. Turns out that scampi is something easy and quick to cook on a weeknight, and tasty to boot. Just take a bottle of white wine, some other simple stuff like a ton of garlic, and off you go! After a little back and forth on the amount of butter to be used and conferring with my trusted second source, the Internet, I set forth.
Now I’m a huge garlic fan and butter, so scampi was a great choice, and pretty easy to prepare too, took less than 20 minutes to get everything ready!
Shrimp Scampi
Serves 4
Time : 20-30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 pound pasta
- 3-4 tbsp butter
- 3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, finely diced
- 6-7 cloves garlic, sliced
- red pepper flakes
- 1 pound shrimp, peeled
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 lemon’s juice
- handful of chopped parsley
Method:
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add some kosher salt, stir to dissolve, then add the pasta. Cook until al dente, see box or other instructions.
2. Add half of the oil and half of the butter into a large skillet or frying pan. Add the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Cook until the shallots are translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes, turning halfway through. Remove the shrimp when pink, and set aside. Pour the white wine and lemon juice into the skillet, and bring to a boil. Add the rest of the butter and olive oil. Stir the sauce for 30 seconds to combine.
4. Add the shrimp back to the skillet, season with salt, pepper, and the red pepper flakes. Add the drained pasta. Toss to combine. Serve with a sprinkle of parsley.