Shrimp Scampi

Locale: Italy

Source: Lidia Mattichio Bastianich/Tanya Bastianich Manuali, Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine [p. 274]

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 0.5 c chopped shallots
  • 7 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
  • 0.75 c extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt
  • 0.5 c white wine
  • 2 tbs lemon juice
  • 6 tbs unsalted butter
  • 0.5 c Italian parsley, chopped
  • 1 tbs dry bread crumbs, or as needed

Steps

  1. Combine shallots, 5 garlic cloves, 2 tbs olive oil in a food processor or mortar and pulverize into a thick paste.

  2. Heat 6 tbs olive oil into a large skillet, add remaining 2 cloves garlic, sizzle for a minute, then add thyme and shrimp in two batches. Season each batch siwith 0.5 tsp salt, and sear for 1-2 minutes. Remove shrimp and thyme to a plate.

  3. Add to same skillet remaining 4 tbs olive oil and the shallot-garlic paste, and cook over medium heat until the paste begins to stick, 2-3 minutes. Return thyme to the skillet, and add wine, lemon juice, 1 cup water, 4 tbs butter, and the remaining 0.5 tsp salt. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half, 4-5 minutes. Whisk in remaining butter, then return the shrimp, tossing to coat the shrimp with sauce. Remove thyme sprigs. Stir in parsley. If sauce seems too thin, add bread crumbs. Stir and serve.

Notes

  1. First time I made this, I only used 1 lb. shrimp, and reduced the sauce, but by more like a quarter than half (except that I doubt I used half of the olive oil). Reduced it to the point where I didn't need bread crumbs. I made tagliatelle (store-bought but not dried) with it, and dumped the pasta into the pan rather than sauce the pasta separately. Also made an ad hoc side dish of sauteed vegetables: one-half onion (sliced thick but half-length), one green bell pepper (cut into strips then halved), two small squash (seeded and cut into half-moons), one zucchini, in a small amount of olive oil and seasoned with salt and black pepper.

Log

  1. 2016-09-14: