A quick and easy pasta dish with marinated shrimp cooked with lots of garlic and butter, then tossed in a lemon and white wine sauce.
Shrimp Scampi isn’t actually a pasta dish. Technically it’s simply made with shrimp, garlic, butter and herbs. It can be enjoyed on its own or served with crusty bread to scoop up all the scrumptious flavours. But we’ve come to know and love this as a pasta dish. If you can’t do shrimp but love the idea of this recipe, you should try Chicken Piccata.
You can make Shrimp Scampi with any size shrimp you like. Since shrimp cook so quickly, I suggest using a larger size for 2 reasons. First, smaller shrimp can easily get over cooked. And secondly, if you’re flipping each shrimp individually after cooking, it’s easier to flip over 20 shrimp than 40. I guess there’s a third reason too, larger shrimp just look better. A normal serving of protein is about a quarter pound per person but let’s be honest, a little more shrimp never hurts.
Peeled or unpeeled? I almost always buy shell on shrimp. It’s helpful if they’re split and deveined because you can removed the shells really quickly. Usually squeezing the tail and pulling the other end is all you need to do. But, if you aren’t up for peeling your own, just know that frozen shrimp without shells can get freezer burnt easily. Obviously this isn’t a problem if you leave near a shrimp boat, but here in the great white north, the shrimp we get here are always frozen.
Once the shrimp are all peeled, give them a quick rinse, drain well and pat them dry. Shrimp don’t need much time to marinate. In fact, if there’s an acid in your marinade like lemon juice, they will actually start to “cook.” But having them bask in some good olive oil, salt and pepper and lots of minced garlic will really add to the final flavour. So try to give yourself at least an hour for this step, or, prep them earlier in the day and let them sit all day long.
When you’re ready to make Shrimp Scampi, you’ll want to have all your ingredients prepped and your pasta water on the stove top. This goes so fast you won’t believe it. It tastes like a complicated dish but it’s so simple. That’s why you should always use the best quality, freshest ingredients.
How to make Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
Fill a big pot with water and salt it generously. Pasta needs more salt than you think and most of it goes down the drain with the cooking water so don’t be shy. A tablespoon is perfectly fine. Speaking of the pasta water, most sauces benefit from a little of the cooking water after the pasts is cooked. It seasons the sauce, adds extra liquid and the starchiness even helps pull the sauce together. So, if your timing is a bit off and your pasta is cooked before you’re ready to add it to the pan, scoop out some of the cooking water, then drain it. This is why you should add your pasta to the boiling water before you start cooking the shrimp. And, don’t be tempted to add more pasta than the recipe says. The amount included is actually more than the recommended serving size. Any more will soak up too much liquid.
Heat up a wide skillet to just above medium and add olive oil and butter. I like to use both. The oil can withstand a higher temperature and the butter adds more flavour. So it’s a balance. Add the shrimp and marinating juices and quickly sauté, just until the shrimp are starting to cook and turn pink, about one minute. Turn them quickly so both sides get some heat, about one more minute. Then, pour the shrimp onto a plate and cover with some foil. Don’t worry, the residual heat will keep cooking the shrimp, and they’ll be back in the pan with the sauce to heat through and finish cooking.
Now turn the heat down a bit, add the rest of the minced garlic and a large minced shallot and sauté until just soft. You can use onion too but a shallot is slightly milder than an onion so it works well in this dish. The lower heat prevents the garlic from burning which makes it bitter.
Add the wine and lemon juice and increase the heat so the mixture comes to a simmer. You want the alcohol to cook off so you’re left with amazing flavour. Did you know a room temperature lemon gives more juice than a cold one? And rolling it around on the counter before juicing helps release the juice easily. At this point your pasta should be about halfway cooked. Leave the sauce to simmer on low until the linguine is al dente.
Add the pasta to the pan and a bit of the pasta cooking liquid as well. Add the shrimp too and any liquid and garlic back in pan. Toss it around for another minute or so, until everything is heated through. Then, add the last tablespoon of butter and olive oil which will coat the pasta and add richness and shine to the dish. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Right before serving, toss some fresh chopped parsley and a pinch (or more) of hot chili flakes.
If you make Shrimp Scampi, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
Marinade
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper
Shrimp Scampi
- 3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 3 Tbsp butter divided
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 large shallot
- ½ lemon, juiced about 3 Tablespoons
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 12 oz linguine
- ¼ cup fresh chopped parsley
- pinch dried chili flakes optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and devein shrimp. Rinse and pat dry.
- Mince 2 cloves garlic and combine with 1 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Add shrimp, mix well and refrigerate at least 30 minutes, up to 8 hours.Â
- Bring large pot of generously salted water to a boil.
- While bringing water to a boil, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp, all at once, including juice and marinade. Spread out into a single layer and cook 1 minute, then turn each shrimp as quickly as possible and cook other side. Reduce cooking time if using smaller shrimp. Empty skillet onto a large plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
- Add pasta to water when it reaches a full boil. Boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally while preparing the rest of the Shrimp Scampi, until cooked to al dente.
- Add second tablespoon of butter and olive oil to skillet. Finely mince 2 remaining cloves of garlic and shallot. Reduce heat to medium-low and sauté until softening and golden, about 5 minutes. Add white wine and lemon juice. Simmer for 5 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
- Use tongs to pull pasta from cooking water into skillet. Add shrimp back to skillet, including any juices and allow to simmer a few minutes, tossing to mix and allow shrimp to heat through. Add a ladle of pasta cooking water to mixture, along with the last tablespoon of butter and olive oil.
- Taste sauce and season with salt and pepper as desired. Most of the liquid will be absorbed.
- Toss with fresh chopped parsley and chili flakes, combine well and serve hot.
Just reading this made me hungry!