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Perfect Shrimp Scampi

Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time7 minutes
Total Time22 minutes
Course: dinner
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: butter, garlic, gluten free, olive oil, Parsley, red pepper flakes, shrimp, white wine
Servings: 4 people
Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • ½ cup dry white wine or broth
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt more or less to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
  • 1 ¾ pounds large or extra-large raw shrimp, peeled I used U-12 size
  • 2 tablespoons or more chopped parsley
  • 1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
  • Cooked gluten free pasta if desired (See NOTES section below.)

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium-high heat.
  • Add garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add wine or broth, salt, red pepper flakes and black pepper and bring to a simmer. Let wine/broth reduce by half, about 2 minutes.
  • Add shrimp and sauté until they just turn pink, 1 to 2 minutes per side depending upon the size shrimp you use. Top with parsley, lemon zest and juice, and serve over pasta*, if desired.

Notes

*Gluten Free pasta doesn't contain the gluten necessary to have the sauce "cling" to the pasta.  But use this little trick to create a sauce that will adhere to gluten free pasta. Combine 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt with 1 cup of water. Heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. Mix thoroughly and add 1/4-1/2 cup to the sauce after adding the wine. Give a good stir. Sauce should thicken slightly. Taste the sauce and add a little more butter and/or olive oil to even out the sauce, if needed. 
If serving with Regular, Non-Gluten Free pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water and add 1/4-1/2 cup of the liquid to the pan after adding the wine. This will help the sauce cling to the pasta. Add a little more butter and/or olive oil to the sauce in this version too.
This dish would also be delicious over rice.
There are many Scampi recipes out there.  Maybe you've tried a lot of them?  If so you'll find this recipe is SO SIMPLE and TOTALLY FABULOUS.  It's the epitome of minimalist Italian cooking. 
To add another layer of flavor to this recipe, simmer the shrimp shells in the wine (add a little bit extra wine since some will evaporate as it simmers) for approximately 10 minutes, strain, then discard the shells, and then use the enriched wine in the recipe.