Italy / USA · Main · Easy
Shrimp Scampi
Rome's most famous pasta. Silky egg and Pecorino sauce clinging to every strand, studded with crisp guanciale. No cream, ever.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Shrimp Scampi, in 5 ideas
- The pasta water is liquid gold. That starchy cup you reserved is what makes the sauce cling instead of pool at the bottom.
- Wine you would drink. If it is too harsh to sip, it is too harsh for the sauce. A dry pinot grigio or sauvignon blanc.
- Do not brown the garlic. Golden is fine, brown is bitter. One minute, then the wine goes in.
- Butter at the end, off the heat. Swirling cold butter in makes the sauce silky. Boiling it makes it greasy.
- Bread for the bowl. There will be sauce left. This is not a flaw, it is a feature. Have crusty bread ready.
What you need
Ingredients
- 12 oz linguine
- 1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 6 tbsp butter, divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper, to taste
How to make it
Directions
- Boil the linguine in well salted water until just shy of done. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
- While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper.
- Sear the shrimp 1 to 2 minutes per side until pink and just curled. Remove to a plate. They will finish in the sauce.
- In the same pan, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook 1 minute until fragrant but not brown.
- Pour in the wine and lemon juice, scraping up the browned bits. Simmer 2 minutes until slightly reduced.
- Swirl in the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter until the sauce turns glossy. Add a splash of pasta water if it needs loosening.
- Return the shrimp and the linguine to the pan. Toss everything together 1 minute until the pasta drinks up the sauce.
- Shower with parsley and serve immediately.
Shrimp go in twice. Sear them fast, pull them out, then return at the end. Shrimp left in the pan while the sauce builds turn rubbery every time.