Shrimp Scampi With Pasta Recipe

Made with a garlicky bath of butter and olive oil, shrimp scampi is a great sauce for pasta. We punch up the flavor in ours with dry vermouth, lemon juice and zest, fresh parsley, and a generous dose of that rich sauce.

By
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Daniel Gritzer
Senior Culinary Director
Daniel joined the Serious Eats culinary team in 2014 and writes recipes, equipment reviews, articles on cooking techniques. Prior to that he was a food editor at Food & Wine magazine, and the staff writer for Time Out New York's restaurant and bars section.
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Updated Mar. 07, 2021
A bowl of shrimp scampi with pasta.
Daniel Gritzer

Why It Works

  • Brining the shrimp with baking soda and salt gives them a plump, snappy texture.
  • Searing the shrimp, removing them from the pan, then building the sauce and finishing the pasta before adding them back ensures they don't overcook.

My tricked-outshrimp scampi recipewas originally developed in its carb-free appetizer form, with no explanation for how one might add pasta—the other very popular way to serve it. But the recipe needs little adjustments here and there to make it work better for pasta, almost entirely in the form of scaling the sauce up to account for the added mass of noodles

As in the original, I brine the shrimp briefly with baking soda and salt,a trick we usefrom time to time here on Serious Eats to ensure incredibly plump shrimp, but in this recipe I also cut the shrimp into two pieces, since I find whole large shrimp don't interact with the noodles all that well. Just a little smaller, though, and they can work their into the pasta strands better, not just ride on top of them.

I quickly sauté the shrimp over high heat to build flavor and cook them rapidly, then remove from the pan until just before serving. This guarantees they don't overcook while you build the rest of the sauce and boil the pasta.

I call for a good deal more butter, olive oil, and garlic here, since we're not just saucing a pound of shrimp, but a pound of pasta on top of that. As for the pasta, take your pick. Long dry noodles like spaghetti and linguine are the most popular, though the pieces of shrimp will work really, really well with big tubes of rigatoni, or even those extra-large rings of paccheri.

与我原来的食谱,我使用y vermouth instead of white wine. It brings more flavor to what's already a bold, garlicky sauce, and it keeps longer once opened, which makes it a great kitchen wine in general. I brighten the sauce with some fresh lemon juice along with freshly grated zest from that same lemon, but then deviate one final time from the original by pulling back on its more complex herb mixture of parsley, tarragon, and chives (yes, I know that's awfully French, but it's also awfully good) and using just parsley. Could you use that herb mixture here? Definitely, but I don't mind going a simpler route with pasta (I also don't mind skipping the other herbs in the no-pasta version, if parsley is all I have in my crisper drawer).

Finally, this rendition also includes pasta cooking instructions, which walk you through the process of finishing the pasta with some of its starchy water for a silky, noodle-glazing sauce. It's the same technique we've tried to teach with so many pasta recipes, but it never hurts to see how it plays out in each particular case.

Recipe Facts

4.6

(5)

Prep:5 mins
Cook:30 mins
Active:30 mins
Dry-Brining Time:10 mins
Total:45 mins
Serves:4 servings

Rate & Comment

开云体育波胆

  • 1pound(450g)large shrimp, peeled and split down the back, veins removed

  • Kosher salt

  • 1/4teaspoonbaking soda

  • 8tablespoons(120ml)extra-virgin olive oil, divided

  • 10medium clovesgarlic, finely minced (about 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons; 50g

  • Largepinchred pepper flakes

  • 3/4cup(180ml)dry vermouth

  • 6tablespoons(85g)unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon-size pieces

  • 2tablespoons(30ml)fresh juiceand 1 teaspoon grated zest from 1lemon, divided

  • 1pound(450g)driedlinguine orspaghetti

  • 1loosely packedcup(1/2 ounce; 15g)fresh parsley leavesand tender stems, finely minced

Directions

  1. Cut each shrimp in half crosswise. In a large bowl, toss shrimp with 3/4 teaspoon (3g) kosher salt and baking soda until evenly coated. Let stand for at least 10 minutes and up to 1 hour.

    20210204-shrimp-scampi-pasta-sauce-daniel-gritzer

  2. In a 12-inch stainless-steel skillet or large sauté pan, heat 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil over high heat until shimmering. Add shrimp in an even layer and cook, stirring and turning shrimp occasionally, until pink, barely cooked through, and just starting to turn lightly golden in spots, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and, using a slotted spoon, flexible slotted offset spatula, or tongs, transfer shrimp to a plate.

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  3. Add 3 tablespoons (45ml) olive oil to skillet along with garlic and red pepper flakes. Set over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until garlic is just starting to turn golden, about 1 minute; lower heat if necessary to prevent scorching.

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  4. Add vermouth and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up any browned bits, until raw alcohol smell is mostly gone and vermouth has reduced by about half, about 4 minutes.

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  5. Add butter and cook, stirring and swirling pan rapidly as butter melts to create a silky, emulsified sauce. Remove from heat, add lemon juice, and season with salt.

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  6. 同时,咸沸水的锅中煮pasta, stirring frequently for first 30 seconds to prevent noodles from sticking, until just shy of al dente (about 2 minutes less than package directions).

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  7. Using tongs, transfer pasta to skillet, reserving pasta cooking water. Alternatively, drain pasta using a colander or fine-mesh strainer, making sure to reserve at least 1 cup (235ml) pasta cooking water, then transfer to skillet. Add 1/4 cup (60ml) reserved pasta cooking water to skillet, set over high heat and cook, stirring and tossing rapidly, until pasta is al dente and sauce is slightly thickened and coats noodles with a creamy glaze, 2 to 3 minutes, adding more pasta cooking water in 1/4 cup (60ml) increments as needed.

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  8. Return shrimp to skillet along with any accumulated juices, lemon zest, parsley, and remaining 2 tablespoons (30ml) olive oil, tossing to combine thoroughly. Remove from heat. Season with salt, if needed.

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  9. Divide pasta and shrimp among serving bowls and serve right away.

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Special equipment

12-inch skillet or large sauté pan

Make-Ahead and Storage

Shrimp scampi is best made right before serving.

Nutrition Facts(per serving)
975 Calories
47g Fat
94g Carbs
31g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 975
% Daily Value*
Total Fat47g 61%
Saturated Fat 15g 76%
Cholesterol189mg 63%
Sodium975mg 42%
Total Carbohydrate94g 34%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein31g
Vitamin C 8mg 42%
Calcium 114mg 9%
Iron 5mg 26%
Potassium 487mg 10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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