This is a delicious shrimp scampi recipe, with tons of flavor. The recipe below will serve about 3-4 people, and you can double it if you are serving more people. It is tasty and delicious!
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- 1 pound large or extra large uncooked shrimp (easiest is using frozen peeled and deveined shrimp straight from the freezer)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons chopped or crushed garlic (about 6-7 cloves) (chopped gives more flavor)
- fresh ground pepper to taste (about 15 good grinds)
- Kosher salt, about 2 teaspoons (reduce salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons if your butter is salted)
- 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- about 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, or more if you likezest of 1 lemon, grated (zest is the yellow part only)
- juice of 1 large lemon
- 2/3 pound of spaghetti ( I like De Cecco the best because even if you cook it past al dente, it stays firm)
Peel and devein the shrimp. You can do this a few hours in advance and then keep refrigerated until you are ready to cook the dish. But if you use the frozen peeled and deveined shrimp, you can take the bag of shrimp right out of the freezer and pour it right into the pan. How easy that is!
Heat water in large pot. Add salt to the boiling water. Cook your spaghetti according to the directions on the box (for al dente), and then drain. Try to coordinate the cooking so that the pasta is done when the shrimp is done.
In a large saute pan (I did not use a non-stick pan for this, but you can if that’s what you have), melt the butter over low heat. Add the olive oil. Add the red pepper flakes and cook over low to medium heat for 1 minute. Then add the garlic. Cook over low heat for 1 minute until the garlic is translucent- you do not want the garlic to become browned! If your garlic becomes burned, you really need to start over. Add the shrimp, the Kosher salt, and the pepper, and raise the temperature to medium. Saute the shrimp, turning it so the shrimp gets cooked on all sides for 4-6 minutes just until the shrimp turn pink. Add a very light sprinkle of red pepper flakes, and 1 or 2 cracks of black pepper. Taste one shrimp to see if it is done. Turn the heat off under the pan and add the lemon juice, the zest of the lemon, and the parsley. Mix well. Immediately add the cooked spaghetti to the pan and toss well to combine. If your spaghetti is totally cool when you add it to the pan, then put the flame on medium for a minute as you toss the spaghetti with the sauce, so that the pasta warms through. Put on a large platter or in a large serving bowl and serve immediately.
Note: You may substitute linguine for spaghetti.
Hints: Room temperature lemons yield more juice than cold lemons. If you are using lemons straight out of the fridge, then push down on them, one at a time, and roll them on the counter. This helps to increase the amount of juice your lemon will yield. Also, always keep Minute Maid frozen lemon juice on hand in your refrigerator just in case you need fresh lemon juice, and you don’t have fresh lemons.