Sunday, November 13, 2005
Barefoot Contessa's Shrimp Scampi
I never cook shrimp at home. Ever. I can't pinpoint why, but I know it has to do something with not always finding well-priced and fresh seafood, dealing with deveining the buggers, and fearing that I'll overcook them. But I gave it a shot the other day when I was looking for a new dish to prepare and came across Ina Garten's rendition of this favorite. I headed over to Your Dekalb Farmer's Market, and found that they sold some huge, deveined but shell-on shrimp, 14 count to a pound that cost about $14 in total. Excellent deal, in my opinion. And, it was even good as leftovers the next day!
Here's the recipe:
Vegetable oil
Kosher salt
3/4 pound linguine
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1 pound large shrimp (about 16 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/2 lemon, zest grated
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
Directions:
Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and the linguine, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Meanwhile, in another large (12-inch), heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add the shrimp, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine. When the pasta is done, drain the cooked linguine and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well, and serve.
That was, by the way, courtesy of the Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook that you can find at your local bookstore. Go buy it, you'll absolutely love it.
