Lemon Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

On Wednesday, free night number two, I tried a second new recipe. Sure, we’ve all done shrimp scampi before, but the lemon takes it to a whole new level. As you’ll read on, the recipe instructs you to make your own shrimp stock. If you’re like that typical American, you think, “forget it!”, you can buy it in the store?! As we all know the answer is yes, but it is soooo easy to make, why spend the extra $5.00 when you have the shells right there calling your name! The whole dish is crisp, light and refreshing! I paired it with steamed broccoli and it was a wonderful meal!

Lemon Shrimp Scampi Pasta

6 garlic cloves, pressed

2 lemons, zest and juiced

5 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

1 pound medium-large shrimp (21-25), peeled, devained and butterflied (Reserve shells)

1 onion, diced

¾ pound thin linguini

2 Tbsp butter

1 small bunch parsley, leaves chopped

In a medium size bowl, combine the garlic, zest and juice of 1 lemon, oil, red pepper flakes half of the diced onion and shrimp. Set aside to marinade.

Meanwhile, place shrimp shells and remaining diced onion in a small pot, over medium heat. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a bowl and discard the shells and the onion.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the linguini and cook until just tender. Drain and reserve ½ cup of cooking water.

Heat a skillet over high heat. Take shrimp out of marinade and cook until they turn pink and start to caramelize. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate, set aside. Add remaining marinade and let cook for a few minutes and then add about 2 cups of shrimp stock and the reserved pasta water. Continue to cook until sauce reduces by half. Add zest and juice of remaining lemon and butter and stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the shrimp and pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle parsley over plated serving. Serve immediately

If you don’t want to scorch your hand trying to reserve pasta water, bail on that and pour all of the shrimp stock you’ve made into the pan. It adds more flavor and creates more of a sauce for your pasta. Also, you don’t need to butterfly the shrimp if you don’t have time for this laborious step. The reason is the shrimp look bigger, so you can trick your guests or family into thinking they are eating XL shrimp, while they are just an M. The shrimp will also fan out a little, which is beautiful for presentation.

Enjoy!