Shrimp scampi with linguine pasta is the perfect weekday or weeknight dinner. It’s buttery, it’s garlicky, and it’s delicious. This recipe features hints of lemon, white wine, parsley, and shallots. The shrimp scampi part of this recipe was adopted from Bon appetit, but now features the Dulcet twist.
Let’s Talk Shrimp
The most important aspect of this recipe is the shrimp of course! Which shrimp to use? If available, I recommend using large wild caught shrimp. Large shrimp is more fulfilling and easy to find in any grocery store. Also, this shrimp size makes the cooking process easier. Meaning there’s only 16-20 shrimp to cook compared to 20+ of a smaller sized shrimp. Another important thing to point out is sustainable wild caught shrimp. This is important because its from nature, unlike farm-raised shrimp. On a personal level, I’ve felt ill eating shrimp farm-raised. Anyways, wild-caught shrimp has that real shrimp taste. Its also cleaner than its farm raised companions.
When to buy Shrimp?
If a local grocery store is having a sale on wild caught shrimp, purchase it then. If that’s not the case, here’s some things to consider when purchasing shrimp or fish in general.
- Unless going to the fish market at the crack of dawn. The chances of buying fresh shrimp is not very likely. “Fresh shrimp” in today’s society or at least in America actually means previously frozen at local grocery stores.
- The shrimp labeled wild caught are straight from the ocean. But, once collected from a fishermen they are immediately frozen on ice. This step allows the shrimp to stay fresh once thawed again.
- Shrimp labelled “fresh” in grocery stores is questionable. More than likely it was instantly frozen as stated above. Then, once it reaches a grocery store is placed on ice to thaw from the fish counter workers. So unless going to the grocery store within 1-3 hours of it opening. The shrimp on ice becomes less and less fresh as the day comes by.
- Unless you can confirm the “fresh shrimp” is indeed straight off the fishers boat. It would be best to just purchase frozen wild caught shrimp. This shrimp is not different from the “fresh shrimp.” It just remained frozen during packaging and was not thawed out again.
The Shrimp Scampi
Moving on to making the shrimp scampi. First things, first remove the outside shell on the shrimp. But, keep the tail intact. Then, using a sharp knife cut along the top of the shrimp. In this step, your discarding the unwanted waste from the lower digestive tact. Its important to devein the shrimp because skipping this step would produce grainy shrimp. Which will alter the overall taste. Once the shrimp are peeled and deveined, place them in a medium sized bowl. Next, grate a glove of garlic and this to the shrimp. Then, add the olive oil and kosher salt to the bowl. Mix all the ingredients together, making sure to coat each piece of shrimp with the olive oil. After that, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. This will allow the shrimp to develop a flavor profile.
Cooking the Shrimp
After an hour, heat a large skillet on medium high. Add a few tablespoons of the olive oil to the pan. Once hot enough, add the shrimp to the pan. It would be best to cook the shrimp in batches. When cooking the shrimp try not to burn the garlic. Cook the shrimp for only one minute of each side. Using a wooden spoon remove the shrimp into a separate bowl and repeat for the remaining shrimp. During this process, we are only partially cooking the shrimp. Once the sauce is made in the same pan, the shrimp will be placed back into the pan and cooked for an additional few minutes.
After cooking all the shrimp, add the sliced garlic, chopped shallots as well as red pepper flakes to the pan. Allow to cook for 1 minute before, then add the wine and lemon juice. To remove the alcohol from the wine, allow to cook for 2-3 minutes. After that, add in the unsalted butter. Occasionally stir all the ingredients together. Leave to cook until the sauce begins to thickened (4-6 minutes). Then, add the partially cooked shrimp back into the pan. Allow to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp turn bright pink.
The Shrimp Scampi and Linguine Pasta
We’ve talked about the shrimp. Now lets talk about the pasta and warm crusty bread. To make the pasta not stick to the pot, add plenty of salt prior to the water boiling. If you want to jazzy up the boiling water, I recommend adding a few tablespoons of butter and garlic seasoning. Cook the pasta as instructed on the box label. Once all the access water is removed from the pasta, add it to the shrimp pan. To keep the linguine from drying out, hydrate the pasta with some olive oil. Toss the pasta well. Then, sprinkle with the parsley and serve in a large bowl. For more carbs, add warm crusty bread such as Italian loaf or sourdough bread which could be purchased at your local supermarket.
Looking for more Lunch/Dinner Ideas?
Check out these recipes below:
Linguine with a Garlic Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients
- 1 lb. Large wild caught shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1/4 cup Parsley finely chopped
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter
- 5 Tbsp Olive Oil Extra virgin
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp Red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup White wine Sauvignon Blanc
- 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- 4 Garlic gloves (2) sliced, (2) grated
- 1 Shallot finely chopped
- 1 lb. Linginue pasta
Instructions
- Add the grated garlic, 1 tablespoons of olive oil, and kosher salt to a medium sized bowl. Whisk well. Add the peeled/deveined shrimp to this bowl. Coat the shrimp with the mixture. Cover with plastic and chill in the refrigerate for 30 minutes up to an hour.
- Add plenty of kosher salt and butter to a large pot of boiling water. Cook the linguine for 7-10 minutes, or as instructed on the packaging.
- Meanwhile, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet. Over medium heat add the shrimp in batches. Cook for 1 minute per a side. Transfer the shrimp using a wooden spatula to separate bowl. Try to keep all the oil in the skillet if possible. Repeat this process for all remaining shrimp.
- Add the chopped shallots to the skillet. Allow to cook for 1½ minutes. Then, add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute or until fragrant.
- Next, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and the white wine. Stir occasionally. Allow to reduce by half approximately 2 minutes.
- Then add the unsalted butter. Swirl and stir the pan frequently as the butter melts. Continue to cook for roughly 6 minutes or until the sauce begins to thicken.
- Scrape the shrimp along with any juices back into the skillet. Continue to cook the shrimp for an additional 2 minutes or until pink. Stir often. Remove from heat.
- Once the pasta is done, drain the linguine well. Add the cooked linguine to the shrimp skillet. Mix well. Add in the remaining tablespoons of olive oil and lemon juice. Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top. Serve hot with crusty bread.