Shrimp scampi is a delicious pasta dish with a lemon, butter, garlic, and white wine sauce! Join Eric from Simply Elegant Home Cooking as he demonstrates this easy but delicious recipe! One of the keys is to avoid over cooking your shrimp! That will cause them to become rubbery. The shrimp scampi is taken to the next level by the addition of an Italian white wine, as well as red pepper flakes for a little bit of heat!
Ingredients:
-1 lb large shrimp
-1 lb pasta (linguine or spaghetti work best)
-4 tb extra virgin olive oil
-4 tb butter
-1 lemon
-1/3 c Italian white wine
-3 cloves garlic
-1/4 ts red pepper flakes
-1 large handful chopped Italian parsley
-Salt & pepper
Directions:
-Remove the shrimp from the fridge 30 minutes before you plan to cook. During this time, remove the shell but leave on the tail, and remove the vein from the shrimp.
-Preheat a large pot of water on high heat until a rapid boil is reached. Generously salt the water, and add the pasta. Cook according to the directions for al dente.
-The shrimp and sauce can be cooked at the same time as the pasta. Once the pasta is cooking, preheat a large pan over medium heat. Once the pan comes up to temperature, season your shrimp generously with salt and pepper, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan, and cook the shrimp for about 2 1/2 minutes, stirring often. It is very important not to overcook the shrimp as they will continue to cook once added back to the sauce.
-Once cooked mostly through, remove the shrimp and set aside on a plate. Turn off the heat and add an additional 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same pan. This will bring down the temperature which is important to avoid burning the garlic. Add in the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes and turn the burner back on but only to medium low heat. Cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, stirring constantly.
-After garlic is cooked but not browned, deglaze the pan by adding in the Italian white wine. Turn the heat up to medium and bring to a light boil.
-Once a boil is achieved, zest the lemon into them sauce, then juice half the lemon into the sauce.
-Once the linguine is cooked, turn off the heat on the pasta water and transfer pasta into the sauce. Do not rinse or drain! Be sure to stir everything around as you go.
-Add back in the shrimp, and add in the butter and most of the chopped Italian parsley. Turn heat down to low and stir until butter is emulsified into the sauce.
-Serve the shrimp scampi and garnish with the remaining parsley
-Enjoy!