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Shrimp scampi is a garlicky, buttery delight

THE WASHINGTON POST – Shrimp scampi, taken literally, is slightly redundant. Scampi is the Italian word for langoustine, a small member of the lobster family with a pale pink shell that can grow to be up to 10 inches long. So saying shrimp scampi is akin to saying “shrimp lobster” or “shrimp langoustine,” falling prey to the same woes as “chai tea”. (Chai is the Hindi word for tea).

But in modern American English, shrimp scampi has come to represent a specific preparation for a classic Italian-American dish brought to North American shores by immigrants.

“Shrimp scampi has significance for the early immigrants, because in Italy scampi, the spiny langouste varietal, was prepared in this fashion,” chef and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich wrote. “In the United States, shrimp are available, not scampi, so the early immigrants prepared the shrimp they found in the scampi style they remembered.”

That style features a garlicky sauce most often consisting of olive oil, butter and lemon. This sauce is so good it makes me want to lick the plate whenever I’m in its presence. Instead, the dish is often served with pasta to take advantage of this delicious elixir, but you can also serve it with rice, zoodles or crusty bread for sopping up every last drop.

Since the sauce is really the star, you can “scampi” just about anything. You can find recipes for chicken, cauliflower and mushroom scampi, to name a few, but the classic shrimp is hard to beat.

Shrimp scampi. PHOTO: THE WASHINGTON POST

The shrimp scampi recipe I’ve shared starts by sauteing the shellfish in a combo of olive oil and butter until they just turn pink. With shrimp, it’s important to keep constant watch as they cook very quickly and can turn from perfectly cooked to rubbery in a matter of seconds. Once cooked, set the shrimp aside and then build your sauce in the same skillet.

In addition to the ingredients mentioned earlier, crushed red pepper flakes add a touch of spice and chopped fresh parsley leaves deliver a refreshing, slightly grassy flavour. Extra butter is swirled in at the end to give the sauce more shine – and because more butter is better – before marrying the shrimp and sauce together to serve.

SHRIMP SCAMPI

Shrimp scampi is an Italian-American classic that features large shrimp in a garlicky sauce with butter and lemon. The sauce is really the star of the dish, which is why the dish is served with crusty bread, pasta or rice to sop it up.

INGREDIENTS

– One lemon

– One-and-a-half-pounds jumbo (16/20 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined

– Half teaspoon fine salt

– Quarter teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

– Four tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

– Two tablespoons olive oil

– Four cloves garlic, minced or finely grated

– Quarter teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

– Half cup of seafood, chicken or vegetable stock along with a splash of extra lemon juice and a pinch of sugar

– Quarter cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

– Crusty bread, cooked pasta or rice, for serving

DIRECTION

Using a rasp grater, zest the lemon, then halve the lemon and juice it. (You should have about one teaspoon of zest and two tablespoons of juice). Set aside, separately.

Pat the shrimp dry and season with salt and pepper all over.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt two tablespoons of the butter with the olive oil until foamy. In batches, add the shrimp and cook until pink, about two minutes per side.

Transfer the shrimp to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about one minute. Add the seafood, chicken or vegetable stock and the reserved lemon juice, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, and simmer until thickened and reduced by about half, three to five minutes.

Stir in the lemon zest, parsley and the remaining two tablespoons of the butter to form a glossy sauce.

Add the cooked shrimp, plus any accumulated juices, and stir to combine. Transfer to a shallow bowl or platter, and serve with crusty bread, pasta or rice to sop up the sauce. – Aaron Hutcherson

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