A few years ago, I realized that the concept of what I know as Classic Shrimp Scampi is kind of an American one. To Americans, Shrimp Scampi is shrimp cooked in butter and typically served over pasta. But scampi is actually its own type of crustacean. So it appears that when Italian immigrants came to the US, they adapted the recipe to substitute in shrimp and then kept both names.
Now that you’ve had a history lesson on Shrimp Scampi, let me get to the actual making of the dish. This version is relatively classic, where you cook the shrimp in a butter white wine sauce with a little bit of crushed red pepper and then finish it off with fresh parsley and some lemon juice. To soak up the yummy sauce, serve with pasta or crusty bread.
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 lbs large or extra large shrimp, cleaned
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- the juice of 1 lemon
- cooked pasta or bread, to serve
Add your butter and olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat.
Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Stir in the wine, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes or until the mixture reduces by half.
Arrange your shrimp in the skillet so they can cook evenly and cook for 1-2 minutes or until they are just turning pink on the side that’s down. Flip the shrimp and continue cooking another 1-2 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in your chopped parsley and lemon juice.
Serve over pasta or with crusty bread.
Shrimp Scampi is a great weeknight option. It honestly takes longer to heat the water for the pasta than it does to cook the dish.
I do love it over pasta, but sopping up this sauce with some Italian bread is pretty fantastic as well!
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 lbs large or extra large shrimp, cleaned
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- the juice of 1 lemon
- cooked pasta or bread, to serve
Instructions
- Add your butter and olive oil to a large saute pan over medium heat.
- Add in the garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in the wine, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 3 minutes or until the mixture reduces by half.
- Arrange your shrimp in the skillet so they can cook evenly and cook for 1-2 minutes or until they are just turning pink on the side that’s down. Flip the shrimp and continue cooking another 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in your chopped parsley and lemon juice.
- Serve over pasta or with crusty bread.
What do you think?