Straight Out The Freezer: Shrimp Scampi
We’ve all got some stuff lurking in the back of our freezer that we constantly skip over or just plain forget about. Not today. Today, we dig through the freezer to find these lost artifacts. This day, we will cook from frozen. Today, we stay at home ever harder than we have been because friends? It’s fucking scary out there in Ontario.
What I found deep in the bowels of our freezer, wedged into a glacial crevasse was a bag of peeled and deveined shrimp. Now, shrimp is one of those things that for some cooks, myself included, is hard to get excited about. It’s one of the “boring protein options” that boring people put on their boring salads or whatever. Like grilled chicken breast or fillet of salmon. And, just like these other options, the shrimp are all-too-often overcooked, underseasoned and misunderstood.
Again, I say, not today.
We’re gonna gently and delicately cook these lil’ babies. We’re going to use the fewest of complimentary ingredients to let their flavour shine through. Frozen shrimp ain’t nothing to scoff at, especially if you live in landlocked Ottawa. It just needs to be treated lovingly.
What could be more loving than a big steaming bowl of shrimp scampi? Now, I know the name of this dish holds some controversy. First, no, a shrimp is NOT technically a scampi. Technically a scampi is a tiny species of lobster. There be no scampi in this dish.
Second, the dish itself is subject to so many recipes and regional permutations that I honestly don’t think an authentic version exists. So, all we’re really tasked with doing here is making something tasty. And you know damn skippy we can do that.
Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients:
- 400g (0.88lb) frozen, peeled and deveined 31 – 40 white shrimp
- 30g (1 oz.) butter
- 30mL (2 tbsp) extra virgin olive oil
- 5g (1 tbsp) red pepper flakes
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 118mL (1/2 cup) dry white wine
- 1 lemon, juice only
- 454g (1lb) spaghetti
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 small bunch Italian parsley, leaves only, roughly chopped
Method:
- Either thaw the shrimp overnight in the fridge or under cold, running water. If thawed under water, place the shrimp in a strainer to drain for 15-20 minutes before cooking.
- Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to the boil over high heat on a back burner.
- In a large, straight-walled, stainless steel pan or skillet, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. Once the butter and oil have just started to foam and bubble, add the spaghetti to the pot of boiling water and stir. Cook the noodles until very al dente, 2 minutes shy of the package directions.
- Meanwhile, as the pasta cooks, add the red pepper flakes to the butter and oil. Using a garlic press, crush the garlic cloves directly into the pan and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Add the white wine to the pan, then add the shrimp.
- Cook the shrimp gently, turning often until just cooked, roughly 3-4 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice to the pan, and swirl the ingredients so everything is mixed evenly. Season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer the pasta directly from the pot to the pan. Toss well, adding a small ladle or two of pasta cooking water to help emulsify all the ingredients into a creamy sauce-like texture. Check seasonings and plate up with a drizzle more olive oil and garnish with chopped parsley.
What could be easier than that? It’s such a simple dish, but it hits so well with clean, simple flavours. It’s a seven-ingredient high and it came from the freezer! Who would thunk it? Plus, it’s fun to say: SHRIMP SCAMPI!!!
Stay firmly at home, dear readers, if you can. Go get vaccinated as soon as you’re able, with whatever vaccine you can get. We’re almost through all of this mishigas. Let me know in the comments below or via email what you’ve got hidden away in your freezer, and maybe I can figure out something cool to do with it. Until next time, keep calm and scampi on.
