Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp Scampi

Shrimp

1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp

3 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1 quart water

2 tablespoons oil

1 cup white wine

4 sprigs thyme

8 cloves garlic, sliced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Sauce

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon corn starch

4 tablespoons cold butter

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Once I had my mise en place ready, I peeled the shrimp, saving the shells.

I stirred together the salt and sugar in the quart of water until they dissolved.  I put the shrimp in the brine, covered it, and put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

While the shrimp brined, I made shrimp stock from the shells.  I heated a tablespoon of oil in a skillet on high heat.  I added the shrimp shells and cooked them until they were spotty.  I took the pan off of the burner and added the wine and thyme sprigs.  I did this off of the heat to prevent the wine from flaming up.  I returned the pan to the burner, simmered the shrimp shells in the wine for five minutes, and then strained the mixture, setting the stock to the side.

While the stock simmered, I cooked spaghetti using a technique I learned on Alton Brown’s Good Eats: Reloaded.  Instead of cooking the pasta in four quarts of boiling water, I cooked it in a saute pan, just barely covered in cold liquid.  I added salt, covered the pan, and brought it to a boil.  Removing the lid, I reduced the temperature to a simmer and cooked it for about five minutes or so until the pasta was al dente.  I used tongs to remove the pasta to a plate.

Instead of water, I cooked the pasta in homemade chicken stock.  The stock added a beautiful richness to the pasta, and I liked the texture that the new cooking method brought.  Chris said it was the best pasta he’s tasted.  I originally wanted to serve the scampi over angel hair pasta, seeing a box of it in the pantry when I checked.  When I went to get the pasta, I realized that I had refilled the angel hair box with spaghetti (I had saved the bigger box to keep the pantry organized), so I went with that.

I wiped out the skillet with a paper towel and then heated a tablespoon of oil on medium-high.  I added the garlic, cooked it for a minute, and then added the red pepper flake and pepper.  I cooked it another five minutes until the garlic was browned.  I poured the shrimp stock (it made about 2/3 cup) into the pan and added the shrimp, cooking it for about five minutes, stirring it occasionally.  I took the shrimp out of the pan and put them to the side.

To make the sauce, I mixed the lemon juice and corn starch, added it to the pan, and cooked it for a minute over medium heat until the sauce thickened.  I removed the pan from the heat and added the butter and parsley, stirring until the butter was incorporated into the sauce.  I put the shrimp back into the sauce, stirring to coat the shrimp.

I put the shrimp over the pasta, drizzled a generous amount of sauce on top, and sprinkled it with parsley.  The beautifully cooked shrimp, with the silky sauce and flavorful pasta, was delicious with an incredible depth of flavor.  There was too much heat for me, so I will dial that back the next time.  I will also use cayenne pepper instead of chili flakes to eliminate the seeds.       

The scampi without the pasta has 193 calories per serving, with 6 grams of carbs, 8 grams of fat, and 21 grams of protein.