Spicy Shrimp Scampi
This can be a little spicy, but you can tame it down by backing off on the red pepper flakes and garlic.
Ingredients
- 1 lb thin spaghetti or other long pasta
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3-5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lb medium to large shrimp peeled and deveined
- 1 cup dry white wine
- juice of two lemons and zest of one lemon
- ½-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes to taste
- 2 tbsp good extra-virgin olive oil see note below
- 1 tbsp capers drained, may substitute green olives
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- fresh parsley
- grated Parmesan Reggiano
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water. (Water should taste salty as the ocean). Undercook the pasta so that it is still slightly chewy. Drain and put pasta in a bowl, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.
- While the pasta is cooking, melt butter in a large skillet, add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Add shrimp, lemon juice, lemon zest, wine, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Cook until shrimp are pink, approximately 3 minutes."Fish out" the shrimp from the skillet and set aside.Add ½ cup of reserved pasta water to the skillet and reduce until the sauce begins to thicken slightly, adding additional pasta water as needed to achieve a silky consistency.Add spaghetti to the skillet and cook until the pasta is al dente.Add shrimp to the spaghetti to warm through. Transfer to the serving bowl, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh parsley, capers and Parmesan Reggiano.
Notes
Add another layer of flavor by using lemon, rosemary or chili infused olive oil.