Shrimp Scampi With Pasta Alfredo

Submitted by Mercy

"It just doesn't get any easier than this! Not including the marinating and pasta water heating time, dinner is on the table in ten minutes. My family has been passing around this little jewel of a recipe for a couple of years and I usually make it about twice a month. I just eyeball the amount of ingredients, so use your own judgment if things don't look right. To make it even easier, I usually prepare the raw shrimp/marinade mixture in Ziploc bags and stuff them in the freezer for super-quick mid-week dinners (I cook the shrimp without thawing them-justs takes a minute or two longer). My mom likes to add 1/2 teaspoon of dry mustard to her marinade, but I omit it due to personal preference."

 

• Ready In: 45mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• SHRIMP AND MARINADE

• 1 lb raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 tablespoon Italian dressing
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 dash ground black pepper

• PASTA ALFREDO

• 1 lb dry pasta (angel hair, spaghetti or fettuccine work great)
• 1 cup half-and-half (or heavy cream)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup parmesan cheese

directions

1. Marinate the shrimp in the other ingredients until you are ready for them.
2. Thirty minutes before you are ready to serve, start heating the pasta water and place the half-and-half and butter in a large serving bowl to soften (sometimes I nuke it in the microwave for a minute or two).
3. Put a large skillet over high (or medium high) heat to get it really hot.
4. When the pasta is about three minutes away from being done (done=al dente), dump the shrimp and marinade into the hot skillet.
5. Toss the shrimp around as they cook.
6. Once the shrimp are pink and curled-up (about three minutes), remove the skillet from the heat.
7. Drain the pasta and dump it into the serving bowl with the half-and-half and butter.
8. Add the Parmesan cheese, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of black pepper and toss together gently (the residual heat from the pasta melts everything together).
9. Pour the shrimp and sauce over the top and serve immediately.

Reviews

[MatahnasMom]

LOVED the shrimp! I used 1/2 of the salt it called for and it didn't seem to need any more.I have my own recipe for Alfredo, but I did try this one the first time and it was easy and tasted good. The shrimp is the star though. I now use this as my go to marinade for lots of shrimp dishes. I also love the idea another reviewer had..double the marinade, finish with about 3T of butter, and toss the whole thing with some angel hair pasta. It's AMAZING, and I've made it countless times since I first tried it.

 

[kdoverby]

It is so easy to make and tastes great. I think it actually tastes even better the next day. I added crab along with the shrimp which made it even better. I also sauteed some veggies to go in it. I added mushroom, brocolli, red pepper and zucchini and it made it absolutely wonderful!

 

[Jeffsmom]

I made this for my Valentine's Day dinner, and it was pretty good. The pasta didn't melt the cheese enough for me, so my plan was to put it back on the heat BRIEFLY, but I was distracted, and it lost its creaminess. But this was incredibly easy, and marinating the shrimp beforehand was something I've never tried before (the lemon juice's acidity and all), but I think this is how I'll prepare shrimp scampi from now on. Thanks for the posting!!

 

[Recipe Lover]

Was way to dry. Had to add another half cup of cream to moisten. I think the amount of Parmesan cheese added to the dryness. Also the directions for cooking the shrimp should have said remove Alfredo Sauce from the skillet itself rather than just remove from heat. The shrimp became overcooked from the still hot skillet.

 

[mchell1227]

Fantastic!!! I dont like spicy at all and this was not overly spicy ..just perfect! Only thing i did differnt is make a sauce of the butter and used half cream and half,half and half and simmered till thick with juices from the shrimp..i actually ladled the shrimp out of the sauce first with my skimmer and then when sauce was thick poured into shrimp and added mozzerella cheese and parm ...omg...very creamy and good! ...Thank you..Great Recipe!