I got it in my head that I wanted shrimp scampi. Why? Well, I read an article in the New York Times about a rosé scampi that sounded good, if fussy. And I just wanted a straightforward scampi. So I went to Gadaleto’s, a local fishmonger in New Paltz, and got a pound of wild caught Gulf shrimp. And then I made dinner.
I based the recipe on the classic Melissa Clark recipe, with some edits and substitutions based on reader comments and personal taste, as listed below.
2 tablespoons Kerrygold butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 Calabrian chili, chopped, or 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 pound large or extra-large shrimp, shell-on
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Spaghetti
Peel and devein shrimp. Reserve shrimp shells.
In a small saucepan, place reserved shrimp shells and 2/3 cup of dry white wine and 1/3 cup water. Saute over low heat for 15 minutes. Strain shrimp broth.
Heat large pot of well-salted water to the boil.
In a large saute pan, melt butter and olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until the scent blooms, about two minutes. Add shrimp broth, a pinch of kosher salt, calabrian chili or red pepper flakes, and a decent amount of black pepper. Bring to a simmer and let liquid reduce for three minutes.
Add spaghetti to the pot of well-salted water. Cook for ten minutes.
Add shrimp and saute until they turn pink, 2 to 4 minutes depending on size. Grab a cup of the pasta water and toss it with the shrimp and stir around for one minute. Turn off heat, add parsley and lemon juice to the pan, toss around.
After 10 minutes, drain spaghetti in a colander.
Serve spaghetti in a bowl, with shrimp and scampi poured liberally over top.
