Shrimp Scampi

Happy Valentine's Day! My gift to myself? I'm not cooking! Instead, my man is buying me a pizza!

But that doesn't mean you can't create a special meal for that special someone! 

Okay, so I know I said I would give a tutorial on how to peel and de-vein shrimp, but I totally forgot. I was going to wait for my fiance to come home so that he could take pictures while I went through the steps, but I got home kind of late. I just kind of sat down, started cleaning the shrimp and before I knew it, they were all done and I hadn't saved any for him to take pictures of. Crap. 

I can write out the steps easily, but I feel like they're missing something without pictures.

Anyway, this recipe comes from "Cook This, Not That" again. I'm going to quote the book since they do a much better job of describing this dish than I ever could: 

"In restaurant-speak, 'scampi' is code for 'buckets of butter'', a distressing translation for the discerning diner. The rich flavors in this version don't derive from fat; they come from garlic, chiles and fresh chopped herbs."

Be forewarned - it's also quite a spicy dish, thanks to the crushed red pepper! Of course, depending on your tastes, you could add anywhere from one-eighth of a teaspoon to half a teaspoon to a whole tablespoon for all I care! It's all about what you like. Recipes aren't written in stone, remember?

SHRIMP SCAMPI, courtesy of Cook This, Not That
YOU WILL NEED:
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Red pepper flakes
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 lb medium-sized shrimp, peeled and de-veined
Salt and black pepper to taste
Chopped flat-leaf parsley
Zest and juice from 1 lemon
Pasta, couscous or quinoa, for serving

mise-en-place

You will need a medium/large skillet. It may look like a very small mise-en-place, but the shrimp is missing from the photo. They were in the sink, soaking in a bowl of cold water. Also missing was the pasta. The recipe calls for a small onion, but the only onion I had on hand was ginormous, like, softball ginormous, so I simply cut it in half. It was more than enough!

Okay, before we get into the recipe, here's a quick step-by-step (minus pictures, sorry!) on peeling and de-veining shrimp.

Now, you can easily buy frozen shrimp that are already peeled and de-veined, but guess what? You're probably going to pay up to TWO TIMES more than if you bought fresh shrimp from your supermarket's seafood department. I paid a little less than $8 for a pound of fresh shrimp, while the package would have cost me about $14. This may vary depending on where you live, but why waste money on frozen shrimp when you can buy the good fresh stuff and just clean it yourself?

What's important about removing the dark vein in the back of the shrimp is, it's is actually the shrimp's digestive tract. Gross, right?

1. Peel off the shell and remove the tail.
2. Using a sharp knife, make a shallow incision along the back of the shrimp.
3. Remove the vein using the tip of the knife. Discard.

That's it! Seriously, that's it. It's a slow and tedious process, but it's got to be done. After I remove the veins of the shrimp, I toss them in a bowl of water for an extra rinse-off.

Now that your shrimp are cleaned, let's cook!

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and pepper flakes until the garlic is light brown (about 30 seconds). Add the onion and continue cooking until it is translucent.

2.Season the shrimp with a pinch of salt and add to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are pink and lightly caramelized (if making pasta, start this now).

tri-color fettuccine!

3. Remove from heat, stir in the parsley, lemon juice and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Serve as is, or on top a portion of buttered pasta, quinoa or couscous!

Thanks to our friend Ben for modeling this bowl =)

Now, I have to admit this dish was not perfect the first time around. The first time I went to cook the garlic and pepper in the oil, I left it on the stove too long and the fumes from the burning chilies nearly choked all of us to death. Then, the second time around, I added waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much red pepper into the pan. That was just my stupidity. However, my fiance and our friends that partook of the meal insisted that the intense spice was perfectly fine.

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you "celebrating" out there. Just remember: Love is all about whistles.

 

Love Is... - Bo Burnham