Shrimp Scampi

You know when you're all out of ideas but want to put together a dinner that looks a little fancy, tastes great and goes together in less than an hour? Here's an option that I offer knowing that my friends and family have been under the impression that I spend a long time in the kitchen when I make this. So much for that ruse.

Scampi is easy and fast, especially if you buy the shrimp already peeled and deveined. This recipe starts with frozen shrimp (26-30 per pound). Shrimp is frozen right on the boat, and even those I buy at the fish market are still frozen when I get them home so I based the cooking time on using the shrimp frozen - not thawed. At first I was happy to skip a step just to save time, then I realized that I never over cook the shrimp now. If you've ever made shrimp you know how quickly they overcook. I've lowered the oven temperature and increased the cooking time. This gives me time to make a simple salad and get the pasta water boiling.
 

This dinner was with a friend from out of town whose well-deserved  vacation was starting the next day. It was a celebration and celebrations start with pre-dinner cocktails, right? This time they were ginger martinis; a tasty prelude to a seafood dinner.

Time: 30 mins

Yield: Serves 2-3

Level: Easy

Ingredients:

10 oz shrimp (peeled and deveined)

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup white wine

4 scallions, sliced

5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp red chili pepper flakes

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Juice of 1/2 large fresh lemon (approx 1/4 cup)

Parmesan cheese grated

Parsley (for garnish)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Put all ingredients, except Parmesan and parsley, in a baking dish. Cooking times can be tricky for shrimp based on the size of the shrimp, whether it's frozen and how full the pan is. I cooked medium sized, frozen shrimp and baked them 20 minutes. Had they been thawed I would have cooked them half of that time. The shrimp should be almost opaque. Remember that they continue to cook after they have been removed from the oven.

Serve over angel hair pasta and garnish with grated Parmesan and chopped parsley.