Garlic Shrimp

One of my absolute, lifetime favorites is Shrimp Scampi, but the name drives me crazy. Scampi are not shrimp, but a tiny species related to lobster. On American-Italian restaurant menus Shrimp Scampi is the name of a dish prepared with shrimp, oil and garlic, while other menu choices including shrimp are labeled “gamberi”. Shrimp Scampi may not be a stranger oxymoron than Jumbo Shrimp, but I beg your indulgence in allowing me to rename this exquisite and easy, quick to prepare dish.

 

Shrimp is most readily available frozen, so keeping a bag in your freezer allows you to cook this at a moment’s notice. Serve with white rice, pasta or bread to soak up the sauce.

 

SERVES 4

 

Ingredients:

½ cup olive oil or ¼ cup olive oil plus 4 tablespoons butter

4 cloves garlic, chopped

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

 

1 to 1½ pounds shrimp, shelled and deveined (see Note)

 

1 lemon, cut in half

 

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 

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Instructions:

▪ Put the olive oil, and butter if you’re using it, in a frying pan over low heat and add the garlic and red pepper flakes, cooking a few minutes until the garlic softens, but not allowing it to brown.

 

▪ Add the shrimp and cook a few minutes until the bottoms are cooked and have turned white and opaque. Turn the shrimp to cook the other side, also until it is white and opaque. Squeeze the juice from one of the lemon halves over the shrimp and toss, continuing to cook for another minute.

 

▪ Transfer the shrimp to a serving dish, scraping up the browned bits in the pan along with the shrimp. Sprinkle with parsley, and cut the other lemon half into slices to serve alongside the shrimp.

 

Alternatively:

 

You can simplify the preparation even more by cooking this in the oven.

 

▪ Preheat the oven to 400˚ F. Put all of the ingredients except the parsley in a baking dish and toss to coat the shrimp with oil and herbs. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until the shrimp have turned white and opaque all over. Garnish with parsley and lemon slices.

 

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Note: You will likely find shrimp available in frozen form and they can be thawed quickly in a bowl of cold water. Remove the shells, dry them on paper towels, and if you find a black vein running along the outer curve of the back, remove it. If you don’t see it, don’t bother with it.

 

As for shrimp size, they are categorized by the number per pound. For this recipe shrimp in the jumbo to large range, anywhere from 21 to 35 per pound, are recommended.