Homemade Shrimp Scampi

I love seafood, but rarely make it at home. Seafood is a treat I have reserved for date night out or for celebrations.

Yet, fancy dinners don't happen often with a baby.

No, I couldn't take it any more. After spying a package of shrimp at the grocery store, I decided that I would find some way to use it. Once home I drug out all my favorite cookbooks searching for ideas for my shrimp. You know, I have ordered Shrimp Scampi in a restaurant before, but didn't realize just how easy it is to make. Most recipes were pretty simple and had a few underlying ingredients - shrimp, butter, garlic, lemons and pasta.

So, Shrimp Scampi it was.

Actually I was a little dissappointed with how easy it is to make and how few ingredients are needed, so I decided to step it up with fresh made pasta. Really, the pasta is the most complicated part of this dish. (but, it isn't tough, either!) You can check out my 3 ingredient pasta in this old post - "Pasta... It's So Easy!"

Pasta is not rocket science...

You need flour (or a durum semolina blend), eggs and a little water. I usually go for the rule of 2 - 2 cups flour, 2 eggs and a tablespoon or 2 of cold water. Pulse up the eggs and flour, then drizzle in a little water till the pasta dough forms.

It will come off the sides and start to form a ball like this.

 Collect it all together and form it into a ball. Cover and let the dough rest for at least 10 minutes. Plenty of time to get the shrimp going and water boiling.

The shrimp gets to lounge around in this great little marinade of crushed garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. The lemon starts to cook the shrimp, so don't be alarmed if it starts to turn pink.

Meanwhile I got my water boiling and started to roll out pasta. I love my little pasta press. I first got it back before my son was born and my husband and I fell in love with the flavor and texture of freshly made noodles. Yeah, we had way too much free time back them.

Now, I don't have as many chances to break out the Imperia roller, but wish I did. Our current kitchen doesn't have counter edges for clamping down the pasta roller. I improvise by putting it on a heavy duty wood cutting board. Time like this though, I wish I had a more permanent place to set-up the pasta roller/cutter.

The noodles take less than 2 minutes to cook, then they come out and the shrimp just takes a little time to heat through. All that marinade goes right in the pan plus a little pasta water and butter. Then the noodles go back into the pot and it is all tossed together to coat.

Fresh flat leaf parsely is a welcome addition to this dish

Shrimp Scampi

You Will Need:

• 6 garlic cloves, pressed
• 2 lemons, zested and juice reserved
• 5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• salt and pepper 
• 1/2 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and de-veined
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 3/4 lb. linguini noodles
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• a handful of Italian flat leaf parsley, stems discarded and chopped.

In a shallow dish, combine the garlic, lemon zest and half the juice, olive oil, red pepper flakes, a liberal dash of salt and pepper and the prepped shrimp. Set this aside and turn after a few mintues, now onto the pasta.

Bring your pasta pot up to boil and salt the water. Add the pasta and cook 2 minutes less than directed on the package. If using fresh pasta, cook for about 2 minutes. Drain and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the water.

Add a splash of olive oil to a saute pan and add just the shrimp. Once they have been turned and start to turn pink, add in the marinade. Let it heat through and add in 1 cup of reserved pasta water. Add the remaining lemon juice, butter and salt and pepper to taste.

Add your pasta to the saute pan and toss in the sauce to coat. Add more pasta water if needed to create the desired consistency of sauce. Garnish with the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

Enjoy!