This is a recipe purely of my design, rather a late comer to the party, but it’s quite simple to make and pretty insanely delicious. As long as you’ve peeled your shrimp in advance (or purchased them cleaned and peeled, booooo) the entire thing comes together in the time that it takes a pot of water to boil and for the pasta to cook.
The word Scampi can mean a lot of different things to different people. I’m pretty sure I’m using it improperly, but what it means to me is: shrimp cooked in a pan at high temperature with lots of garlic, usually in a white wine butter sauce. I think of this as a stand by that I never think to order at old-school Italian joints in New England or New York. I don’t know if I’ve ever had shrimp scampi, but from what I understand, this approximates that dish. My reference is the Spanish tapa gambas al ajillo: I love the sharp, duende of the garlic in relation to the fruit of the olive oil and the brine and snap of the shrimp. This is more or less that same idea, but over pasta, so with a bit of white wine and butter to extend it all so that everything gets an even coat. A long pasta is best for this, since it’s not saucy – I like to use a nice thick fettuccini. I use cheese, too, to help with the consistency of the sauce, which may be sacrilegious to some but the sauce is by no means cheesy – it does go a long way towards achieving the desired consistency but really doesn’t factor very heavily into the final flavor, so I’d still recommend utilizing it. The fact that I like a big mound of grated cheese on the final product is my business.
The second stage of creating this sauce is equal in length to the first stage, and involved cooking the pasta in the liquid to make it cohere. I find that the higher quality pasta you use the more forgiving it will be, since it will retain its firmness for longer, but really the idea here is know your pasta and its cooking time, and to learn to read the consistency of the sauce as it is forming in the pan. After a few tries you should have this down pat.
This is a homage to old-school Italian-American style cooking, so don’t be shy with the garlic.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 or 5 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1 lemon, halved
- 1 TBSP red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 large slap (call it 2-3 TBSP) of butter
- 12 oz fettuccini
- Salt and pepper
- 1 oz parmiggiano reggiano
- Small handful of minced fresh parsley
Directions:
If you clean your shrimp and mince your garlic in advance, I find that the whole thing really does come together in the time it takes to cook the pasta, starting from a cold pot. So –
Place a medium pot of water on to boil. Next to it (this will be important later) place a large skillet on high heat and add the oil. When it is shimmery, add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and a healthy pinch of salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Cook for about 45 seconds, until the garlic just begins to brown, then add the shrimp. Cook, sauté ing constantly, for about 2 minutes, depending on the size of your shrimp, until they’re just done. Working quickly so the garlic doesn’t burn, and remove the shrimp (with any garlic or seasoning that is sticking to them) with a slotted spoon or fish spatula into a bowl. Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on them and toss to coat. Hold in some place where you won’t just pop all the shrimp into your mouth as you’re constructing rest of the dish.
Add the wine to the pan. If it’s very hot it might flame up – just beware. Scrape the bottom to deglaze any garlic or shrimp fond that is stuck there. When the wine comes to a brisk boil, add the butter. Stir until it disappears, then continue to cook on high, stirring frequently and vigorously, until it is reduced by half. At that point, add the cheese and stir to incorporate – make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Turn the heat to medium and continue to reduce.
At some point during all this, your water has come to a boil. Salt it generously and add the pasta. As the pasta cooks, watch the consistency of your sauce next door. I’ve watched probably tens of thousands of liquids simmer and boil, and can pretty well judge its thickness and consistency by the size and character of its bubbles. I don’t know if that’s self-evident or if that comes from experience. You can easily judge these two aspects by running a spoon or spatula through it, and that’s what you should be doing relatively frequently. When it starts to get just a bit too sticky, add pasta water, a ½ ladle-full at a time. Stir to incorporate and continue to reduce. Do this as many times as necessary, but when your pasta gets close, hold off.
When the pasta is about a minute or two from being done (if you’re a real dweeb you could time it based on the packaging directions, but I think it’s fine to taste a piece and go with your experience – also, if you bite into it and it’s close but you still see a bit of white in the middle of the strand of pasta, you’re probably ready for the next step) start adding the pasta directly to the pan using either tongs or even better, I find, a pasta ladle. It will transfer from pot to pan with a fair amount of its starchy cooking water – that’s a good thing. Toss to coat thoroughly (it will seem too watery at this point) and cook for another 1-2 minutes, being careful and stirring often enough to make sure that no pasta sticks to the bottom. At some point, if you’re watching closely and keeping it in motion, you’ll notice that the whole mixture has thickened. It tends to do this rather suddenly, and it’s a moment I really enjoy. The pasta has absorbed some of the sauce in its finishing moments, which can only mean good things for its own flavor, and it has released some of its starch into the sauce, which helps achieve the consistency you’re after.
When the pasta is about a minute away from being finished, add the shrimp and any collected juices in the bowl, the parsley, and the juice from the other half of the lemon. Stir to distribute throughly then cook for the remaining minute and you’re done. You may add an extra hit of olive oil and/or cheese if you feel it’s necessary to the cohesion of the final dish.
Serve immediately, with cheese if you like, and enjoy.
The Grumpy Gastronome 
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