When Jeff and I started dating, Jeff would talk about how he can make shrimp scampi....this really impressed me.....I thought this man with a freezer full of waffles and pizza bites can cook? Wow. :) So one night he set up a romantic dinner. He had me meet him at his apartment and he had decorated the table with candles and flowers. It was swoon worthy believe me. So we sat down for dinner and he had made shrimp scampi and garlic bread. I was so excited to try his shrimp scampi! I praised him through the whole meal on how delicious it was. When dinner was done I got up to help him do the dishes and I went to throw something away and there it was..... a frozen Bertolli pasta bag.....Then I put the two and two together and gave him a hard time about how he tried to pass the Bertolli off as his recipe....We still laugh about it to this day.
Well it took a few years but he made real shrimp scampi for me on valentines day....so I can no longer give him a hard time about it. It was so good. I thought I would share the recipe. (By the way this is not his recipe....but it is sooooo yummy!)
Ingredients
2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 extra-large egg yolk
2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Lemon wedges, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.
Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.
