A Nice Shrimp Scampi Recipe

There are a number of variations of shrimp scampi, which appears to be an Italian-American recipe. Some of the common ingredients are shrimp, butter, olive oil, and white wine. It is often served over pasta.

("Scampi" is not the Italian word for "shrimp," but the Italian plural for Norway lobsters.)

I've tried two shrimp scampi recipes - one from epicurious.com (http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Shrimp-Scampi-Pasta-234258) and one from food.com (http://www.food.com/recipe/shrimp-scampi-26321). I prefer the one from epicurious, although both are nice.

The following recipe is the one from epicurious. It serves four and is easy to make.

Ingredients

- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 pound peeled and deveined large raw shrimp. (I used medium shrimp because they were on sale)
- 4 large garlic cloves left unpeeled and forced through a garlic press (I peeled them and minced them because I don't have a garlic press.)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used sauvignon blanc)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2/3 pound capellini (angel-hair pasta)
- 1/2 cup chopped, fresh, flat-leaf parsley (Italian parsley)

Preparation

Bring 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot, but not smoking. Then  sauté shrimp, turning over once, until just cooked through - about 2 minutes. Then use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a bowl.

Add the garlic to the oil remaining in the skillet. Also add the red pepper flakes, wine, salt, and pepper. Cook over high heat for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add butter to skillet, stirring until melted, and stir in shrimp. Remove skillet from heat.

Cook the pasta in boiling water until just tender, about 3 minutes. (I did 4 minutes.) Reserve 1 cup of the pasta-cooking water, then drain the pasta in a colander.

Put the pasta, shrimp mixture, and parsley into a large bowl and toss. If necessary, add some of the reserved cooking water to keep the pasta moist.