Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp scampi makes an appearance on many, many restaurant menus and is recreated in homes regularly for good reason.  It’s indulgent, luxurious and delicious and brings together some of the most popular ingredients for cooks and chefs – garlic, butter, olive oil, lemon and of course, shrimp.   If you look up most recipes for shrimp scampi in cookbooks and online, it is prepared in a pan on the stove.  Not sure about you but I would like to reduce the recipes I fry or sauté to cut down on the mess as oil splatters everywhere, which is inevitable.  This version builds all the flavors into one dish, at the same time, and they cook together in the oven.  One dish, easy clean up and also a beautiful presentation from the oven right to the table.

I frequently make this for dinner during the week because it doesn’t take much to pull it together.  But it also is an impressive dish for a dinner party.  I put the large casserole dish in the middle of the table along side a big bowl or pasta and a crisp salad and we’ve got a great meal.  Some red pepper flakes and a little (or a lot!) grated parmesan cheese on top and it’s perfect.

Shrimp scampi is delicious on its own but I like a little texture so I started adding a topping of panko breadcrumbs which gives it great crunch, especially when it’s mixed in with the pasta.  Your call on the adding the topping but if you do, be careful to get the topping on the shrimp as much as possible.  Breadcrumbs are sponges and will soak up the sauce you worked to create at the bottom of the pan.  I protect that delicious sauce but pushing the shrimp together so there aren’t too many gaps between them and when I put the dish on the table, I prop up the end with the breadcrumbs so the sauce pools at the other end.     

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs.           Raw shrimp, deveined, tails removed (I use Jumbo which nets 21 – 25 per pound)

2 tbs                 Garlic, finely diced

¼ c                  Olive oil

3 tbs                 Butter, diced into small pieces

1 tbs                 Dried parsley

2 tbs                 Dry white wine (I’m partial to Pinot Grigio)

1 tbs                 Fresh lemon juice  

1 tsp                 Seasoned salt

Topping

½ c                  Panko breadcrumbs

1 ½ tbs            Butter

¼ tsp               Dried parsley

¼ tsp               Seasoned salt

Preparation

Preheat your oven to broil.

In a bowl, combine the shrimp with the olive oil, white wine, lemon juice and seasoned salt.

In a single layer, place the shrimp in a large casserole dish.  Cut up the butter into small pieces and place around the shrimp.  Sprinkle with parsley and place in the oven on a low rack (not directly under the broiler) for about 8 minutes. 

In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and butter and microwave for 30 seconds or until the butter melts.  Mix together.

Once the shrimp is pink and the sauce is bubbling, remove the pan from the oven carefully. The shrimp will be slightly smaller so push them together so there are limited spaces between them.  If you skip this step, the topping will absorb all the sauce.  Sprinkle the topping over the shrimp and return the pan to the oven to toast the topping which will take about 1 – 2 minutes.  DO NOT WALK AWAY – THE TOPPING CAN BURN IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE.  Not everyone in my house likes the topping so I usually only do half of the shrimp.

Remove the pan from the oven and serve.  If I put the pan on the table, I put a towel under the side with the topping to tilt the pan so the sauce pools on the other side which makes it easier to get to the sauce.

Serve over pasta and an extra squeeze of lemon.