This is an extra-garlicky version of shrimp scampi by Kenji Lopez-Alt of Serious Eats and other fame.
I love that it uses a fair amount of garlic—introduced at different steps in the cooking process—which gives the dish a robust flavor. And with that said, the ease of preparation is the icing on the cake, given the flavor payoff.
Try to use a high-quality craggy pasta, such as gemelli or fusilli for this dish.
What you’ll need
- 1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined, with the tails left on. Reserve the shells, if you have them.
- 12 medium cloves of garlic
- 4 minced or grated
- 4 smashed or left whole
- 4 thinly sliced
- 0.5 cups extra virgin olive oil
- Salt or kosher salt
- 0.25 – 0.5t red-pepper flakes
- 0.5 cups white wine
- 2T unsalted butter
- 0.25 cups chopped fresh parsley
- 2t lemon zest (I omitted this ‘cuz I didn’t have any)
- 1T lemon juice
- 1 lb. craggy or tubular pasta
- Sant and ground black pepper, for finishing
What to do
Put the shrimp on a medium bowl and mix in the minced garlic 2T olive oil and 1t salt. Ensure that everything is evenly distributed.
In a 12-inch frypan heat the remaining 2T olive oil, the smashed garlic cloves and shrimp shells (if using) until the oil is gently bubbling. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes. Strain the oil through a fine-mesh strain put over a bowl to reserve the flavored oil. Discard the garlic and shells.
Return the garlic oil to the frypan and heat over high heat, until shimmering. Add the sliced garlic and pepper flakes, stirring and cooking until the garlic takes on a little color. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring and tossing until the shrimp is slightly pink—about 30 seconds. Add the wine and cook the shrimp until just about cooked through—about one more minute. Remove the pan from the heat and add the butter, parsley, lemon zest (if using) and juice. Stir to combine and set aside.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until softened but has a slight bite to it in the center. Drain the pasta, retaining about 0.5 cups of the pasta water. Return the pasta to the pot and set it over medium-low heat.
Now for the best part: pour the sauce and shrimp over the pasta, and add about half of the reserved pasta water. Stir will until the sauce coalesces and coats the pasta. Add more pasta water, if necessary, until the sauce has the consistency you like.
Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve hot!
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