This is like one of those dishes where you go to the store specifically for seafood because you want a light dinner but it’s still freezing outside so you want something warm and satisfying and trust me, nothings HITS like a perfectly buttery shrimp scampi. Serve on its own or over a bowl of your favorite pasta (tossed with olive oil and salt, of course), this will take you less than 10 minutes start to finish and that HITS in a whole different way for us procrastinators.
Before I begin, this is SHRIMP SCAMPI people – if you are averse to butter, maybe you should try the Grilled Shrimp + Haloumi Skewers or the Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Rosemary Apricot Glaze. Now for the rest of my butter-loving fans, let’s begin.
SHOPPNG LIST: 3 lbs. jumbo shrimp (peeled and deveined), butter, olive oil, dried onion, Adobo seasoning, chopped garlic, thyme, lemon, garlic salt
Toss your cleaned shrimp with 1/4 cup of olive oil and 2 tB. of Adobo seasoning and mix well. In a saucepan over medium heat, add 1/2 cup of butter and 2 tB. of olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add 2 tB. of chopped garlic and 1/4 cup of dried onion (You’ll find the dried onion flakes in the SPICES section of your market. I like the use here instead of FRESH onion because of the texture it creates for the sauce.) Allow the garlic and onion to sauté in the butter for a few minutes along with a handful of thyme springs. *ANOTHER NOTE: I don’t typically love using full branches of HERBS anywhere in my cooking because I think it’s silly; but in this application, the flavor of the thyme will infuse into your butter sauce and the cooked springs actually make for a beautiful presentation.)
Anyway, now you can add all of your shrimp into the simmering butter and garlic and dried onion and thyme. DO NOT mix your shrimp too often. The key to getting a nice caramelized crust on your shrimp is to let the shrimp really INTERFACE with the bottom of your hot sauté pan. Once you notice the bottom of your shrimps turning pink, then you can give them a nice toss with a wooden spoon. At this point in the cooking time, I like to finish the shrimp with a generous sprinkle of garlic salt, the juice of one lemon and an extra tB. of butter for good luck 🙂 Allow the shrimp to continue cooking in the lemon-y scampi sauce until the shrimps are pink all around and firm to the touch. Serve with a few lemon wedges and those beautifully wilted thyme sprigs for effect.
The Kitchen Koach 