How to Make Shrimp Scampi
Everyone loves shrimp scampi, here's how to make it at home.
You can never go wrong with shrimp scampi, and this recipe is as irresistible as it is simple. If you are looking for an easy way to impress your guests, this is the way to go because you can have a stunning dish on the table in less than 15 minutes.
Now follow along and become a culinary mastermind in only four steps.
1 USE QUALITY INGREDIENTS
When you make a simple dish, make sure the few ingredients that you use are the best you can find. For shrimp scampi, all you'll need is 1 pound fresh, raw shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on. You can buy your shrimp already prepped or you can peel and devein them yourself.
You will also need 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons of good-quality olive oil, 4 cloves of finely minced garlic, 1/2 a cup of dry white wine, kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper (to taste), a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes (to taste), 1-2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley.
If serving with pasta, you'll want to start by boiling your water and cooking your pasta so it is ready at the same time as your shrimp.
2 MAKE GARLIC BUTTER
This is the heart and soul of your shrimp scampi and it’s incredibly easy to put together. Melt your 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium to large skillet, over medium-high heat. Then add the garlic and sauté it just until it’s fragrant.
Be very careful, garlic burns easily so watch your heat and don’t walk away.
3 ADD WINE & SEASONING
Once your kitchen is full of a lovely garlic butter aroma, pour in the wine, add the salt, cracked black pepper and crushed red pepper. Let the sauce simmer until it has reduced by about half. This only takes 2-3 minutes.
4 COOK THE SHRIMP
Once your sauce has reduced, add your shrimp. Stir and toss in the sauce to coat. Your shrimp are ready when they turn pink; it only takes 2-4 minutes (depending on the size). The tails should have a red-orange color. Cooked shrimp will also curl into a nice tight C-shape. Overcooked shrimp can be chewy so timing is important.
If you're worried about undercooking, cut into a piece and check to see if it's white on the inside.
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon (about 1 tablespoon) over the shrimp. Sprinkle the parsley over the top and toss. Now you are ready to serve with bread, pasta or on its own.
