Shrimp Scampi Pasta
This shrimp scampi pasta is something I whipped up in a jiffy, thanks to a frozen pack of shelled & de-veined shrimps and quick-cooking angel hair pasta. This was my lunch for one when I work from home. Not too shabby I think :)
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STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS
The ingredients & quantity shown below are for 1 person.
First, cook angel hair in a pot of boiling salted water (taking 30 seconds off the recommended cooking time for al dente). Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the noodles. You can mix the cooked noodles with some olive oil to prevent them from drying out and sticking.
Make shrimp scampi. Heat olive oil & butter in a pan, then cook garlic & chilli flakes quickly until the garlic is fragrant. Add shrimps to the pan, cooking on both sides until just cooked (see picture above). Note: I’m using frozen shelled & deveined shrimps from Cold Storage as a convenient shortcut. The shrimps are rather small so I did not brown them in the pan as they will likely overcook. If you are using larger shrimps, you can brown them on each side for extra flavour. Set aside the cooked shrimps on a plate.
Deglaze the pan by adding dry white wine. Then add chicken or shrimp stock (made using the shrimp heads and shells, if you bought fresh shrimps). Bring the sauce to a quick simmer.
Toss and serve. Add drained pasta, cooked shrimps & parsley (pictured above). Toss everything together, adding pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time if the pasta is too dry.
Garnish with more parsley, freshly cracked black pepper, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a wedge of lemon. This is SO delicious :)
Shrimp Scampi Pasta Recipe
If you are using large shrimps for this recipe, brown them on both sides in the pan in Step 2 for extra flavour. However, you can skip this step if using smaller shrimps so as not to overcook them.
Check out the step-by-step photos on the previous page.
Ingredients:
- 1 serving (about 50 grams) angel hair (or any fave pasta)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 15 grams unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes to taste; optional
- 1/4 tsp garlic salt (or 1/8 tsp sea salt)
- 100 grams shelled & deveined shrimps (prawns) thaw if using frozen
- 1/4 glass (25 ml) dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc
- 5 drops lemon juice to taste
- 1/4 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp chicken stock (or prawn stock#)
- 1 tbsp chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
- sea salt
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste
- a small lemon wedge
# If using fresh shrimps for this recipe, you can simmer the shrimp shells in 100ml water for 5 minutes. Drain and discard the shells, leaving the clear shrimp stock to add to the pasta dish for that extra oomph in flavour.
Directions:
- Cook pasta Bring a pot of water with 1 tsp salt added to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente (minus 30 seconds for angel hair, and 2 minutes off for spaghetti from the package recommendation cooking time). Set aside a cup of pasta water before draining the noodles.
- Make shrimp scampi. In a saucepan, heat olive oil and butter. Add garlic, chilli flakes and garlic salt; cook briefly until the garlic is aromatic. Add the shrimps to the pan and cook them on both sides until just cooked. Take out the shrimps and set aside on a plate.
- Make sauce, toss and serve. Deglaze the pan by adding white wine. Bring to a boil, then add lemon juice, lemon zest and stock. When the sauce is bubbly, turn off the heat. Add drained pasta, cooked shrimps and chopped parsley to the pan. Toss to coat everything evenly, adding pasta water, 1 tbsp at a time, if the pasta is too dry. Season to taste with more salt (only if needed). Garnish with black pepper, freshly grated cheese and lemon to serve.