I know, I know. Two pasta recipes in a row? What can I say, we were in a pasta mood this week. I've always loved shrimp, so for a long time growing up, shrimp scampi was my dish of choice whenever my family would go out to eat. I had no idea how easy it was to make at home until I tried it myself. If you can chop garlic and toss shrimp around in a pan, you can make shrimp scampi. Last Christmas, we even substituted some fresh lobster that my wonderful in-laws brought down from Maine, used fresh tagliatelle in place of the spaghetti, and it made the best Christmas Eve dinner we could have asked for.
Shrimp Scampi with Spaghetti
(Recipe aadapted from the NY Times Cooking section)
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup dry white wine
- 1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3/4 pounds large or extra-large shrimp, shells on (you can use up to 1 1/4 pounds per the NY times recipe, however we find that 3/4 pounds of shrimp to 1 pound of spaghetti is the perfect ratio for us)
- 1/3 cup chopped parsley
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 pound spaghetti
- Set a large pot of salted water to boil. When it's ready, cook spaghetti according to package instructions and drain.
- In a large skillet, melt butter and olive oil together over medium heat. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add wine, salt, red pepper flakes, and plenty of black pepper. Bring to a simmer and let wine reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
- Add shrimp and saute until they just turn pink, about 2-4 minutes (watch the shrimp carefully and do not overcook!).
- Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and lemon juice.
- Toss the shrimp scampi with the cooked spaghetti and serve.
No comments