While we are on the subject, let's have a little conversation about shrimp. When you are given the option of buying shrimp that is all ready to go - cooked, peeled and deveined, I mean - and buying shrimp that looks like it just hopped out of the sea, wisely choose the first option. I chose poorly. I was under the impression that buying raw shrimp would be fresher and more erm- culinary- than buying the ready-to-rumble shrimp. It made me feel less guilty about buying it frozen. After watching a terrifying tutorial on how to peel shrimp and hurriedly trying to pick off the crustacean legs plastered to my arm before my husband walked through the door, however, I concluded that while my experience very well may have made me into more of a woman, it also was not one I ever intend to relive.
I was hesitant to post my recipe because I have not perfected it. I hemmed and hawed over it all week long. But then I realized that, much the same as many things in life, if you wait forever for something to be perfect well... you'll be waiting forever. I expect you'll be seeing a second edition of this recipe on The Gourmet Weekday in the future, but it will likely be a month or so before I recover enough from my shrimping trauma to give it another try.
P.s. I wanted to use white wine as a base for my sauce, but all I could seem to rustle up was butter. If anyone has a chance to make it with wine, please share how it turns out!
What you'll need:
- 1/2 lb shrimp
- 2 - 2 1/2 cup milk
- Crushed red pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- Juice and zest of an entire lemon
- 1/2 lb asparagus
- 1/4 sugar snap peas
- 4-5 tbs butter
- Black pepper and sea salt to taste
- 3 sage leaves
- Linguine, cooked al dente
- Fresh mint to garnish
What to do:
1. Melt butter over medium-low heat in dutch oven (reserve 1-2 tbs for later). Cut lemon in half and squeeze the juice from both sides in with the butter. Add shrimp to lemon-butter mixture. Sprinkle sparingly with crushed red pepper, mix in chopped garlic, then allow shrimp to fully turn pink.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of milk to pot and bring to a boil, being sure to stir regularly. Turn heat down to low and allow sauce to simmer.
3. Meanwhile, chop your asparagus into thirds. Heat olive oil in a large skillet and sauté asparagus and sugar snap peas over medium heat until golden and crispy. Then, set aside.
4. Keep an eye on your scampi. As it simmers, you will notice the sauce will thicken and reduce. When this happens, add the remainder of the milk and butter and stir frequently to be sure it does not burn. When your sauce is the consistency you want (shorter cook time if you like it to be thinner, longer cook time if you are looking for creamy), add asparagus, sugar snap peas, and sage. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over low heat for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add linguine to pot and mix with scampi. Allow to simmer 2 minutes, then remove from heat.
6. Place scampi on plate and garnish with lemon zest, fresh mint, and a twist of lemon. Serve and prepare to awe!
This dish was lighter than I imagined it would be. I went a little crazy on the red pepper, which left my husband and I panting by the time the meal was over, but the mint and lemon left a refreshing snap on the palette. This meals takes less than 20 minutes to whip together (if you don't have shrimp to de-leg, that is) and it is rich in protein and veggie-full nutrients! Give it a try and feel free to try to help me perfect it - comments are appreciated!
Much love,
Deidre
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