Quick and easy shrimp scampi. Shrimp sautéed in easy scampi sauce with garlic, butter, olive oil, and white wine, tossed with red pepper flakes and parsley.
Shrimp Scampi: Easy and Quick
Do you have a favorite meal for those need-something-quick-and-don’t-want-to-have-to-plan-or-work-too-hard days? I keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer just for those times when I’m too busy to plan, but want a quick and easy meal.
I’ll put some frozen shrimp in a bowl of ice water, and if I’m serving them with pasta, by the time the pasta water has come to a boil the shrimp are defrosted enough to cook.
Shrimp scampi has to be one of the easiest ways to quickly prepare shrimp!
We simply sauté the shrimp with garlic in butter and olive oil, splash it with some white wine, let the wine reduce while the shrimp cooks, and then toss it with fresh parsley, lemon juice and black pepper.
How to make Shrimp Scampi
Shrimp Scampi Recipe
- Prep time: 10 minutes
- Cook time: 5 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
If you are using frozen raw shrimp, defrost them quickly and safely by putting the shrimp in a large bowl of lightly salted ice water (1 1/2 teaspoons of salt for every quart of water).
We cook the shrimp scampi in butter and olive oil so we can cook at a relatively high heat without burning the butter but still impart the butter flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pound large (16-20 count) raw shrimp, shelled* and de-veined, (if you want, keep the tail on for an attractive presentation)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2-3 tablespoons butter
- Salt
- 3-4 garlic cloves, slivered, or 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (less or more to taste)
- 1/2 cup white wine (I recommend a dry white wine such as a Sauvignon Blanc)
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* Shell on? or Shell off? It’s really up to you. Shrimp cooked shell on are more flavorful because the shells infuse more flavor into the shrimp while they cook. But, shell-on is fussier to eat. If you remove the shells before cooking the shrimp, you can save them for making shellfish stock.
Method
1 Sauté garlic, red pepper flakes, in butter and olive oil: Heat a sauté pan on high heat then reduce to medium high heat. Swirl the butter and olive oil into the pan. After the butter melts it will foam up a bit then subside. If using unsalted butter, sprinkle a little salt in the pan. Stir in the slivered garlic and red pepper flakes.
2 Add shrimp and wine: Sauté the garlic for just a minute, until it begins to brown at the edges, then add the shrimp.
Add the wine and stir to coat the shrimp with the sauce of butter, oil, and wine.
Move the shrimp so they are in an even layer in the pan. Increase the heat to high and boil the wine for two to three minutes.
3 Turn shrimp over to cook on the other side: Stir the shrimp and arrange them so that you turn them over to cook on the other side. Continue to cook on high heat for another minute.
4 Toss with parsley, lemon juice, pepper: Remove the pan from the heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with parsley, lemon juice, and black pepper, and toss to combine.
Serve as is, or with crusty bread, over pasta, or over rice (for gluten-free version).
Links:
Choosing Sustainable Shrimp article from the Huffington Post
