Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp is an easy meal, little pricier than regular dinners, but definitely something to add to the menu every now and then. And this particular preparation is absolutely delicious. Shrimp, cooked in garlic, butter and white wine, served on a bed of linguine. As the post implies, it’s called shrimp scampi, read on for more

There is a holiday named for this dish. Yes, shrimp scampi day, falls on April 29th of each year. Not too sure if Hallmark has the appropriate cards for this particular holiday. But if enough people contact them they may. Obviously the whole thing is a marketing thing, but why not. Shrimp have been caught for thousands of years, they’re an abundant food source. And can be found along most shorelines and estuaries.

Shrimp scampi is regional specific. In England, for example, the dish is made from Dublin Bay Prawns, in Italy, from langoustine. And here obviously made using shrimp. The idea of cooking shrimp in a garlic, butter, wine sauce has probably been around for a long time. The individual ingredients have been used in cooking for a thousand years. But surprisingly, shrimp scampi, as a specific recipe didn’t show up till the early 20th century. Similar to chicken parmigiana, that, although you would think is a classic, didn’t show up till the 1950’s.

Shrimp is easy and quick to cook, this whole dish is ready in the time it takes to cook the pasta. So, prep is everything. Start by finely dicing 3-4 cloves of garlic.

Finely dicing garlic is better than mincing, the natural oils get left on the grater, that takes away some of the garlic flavors.I would suggest to check some YouTube videos on this, they’re quite informative and helpful. Also, prep the shrimp. Remove the shell, devein, rinse and set aside. Always remember to clean up after handling raw meat, check my post on safe food prep.

Put the water up for the pasta. Preheat a pan over medium heat and add the oil and butter. When it’s melted add the garlic.The garlic won’t need much time to soften, just a few minutes over a low medium heat, now add the wine and ground red pepper flakes, and turn the heat up a bit. The idea is to reduce the wine, that helps with the flavor, and boil away the alcohol. Some suggest to reduce by half, but I prefer to have some liquid on the plate. So, when it’s boiled for a few minutes add the shrimp and mix everything well. Making sure the shrimp gets coated with the wine sauce. If the shrimp is done before the linguini, remove the pan from the heat and cover.

If everything has gone to plan the linguine should be about ready by now. When it’s cooked to desired firmness, drain, return to the pan, dress with olive oil and pepper. Right before serving the shrimp sprinkle parsley flakes over, and mix. Plate the pasta, put shrimp and sauce over, now sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan and serve. Thank you for reading and enjoy your shrimp scampi