RECIPE: Shrimp Scampi

Louisa from Living Lou is here with an amazing recipe. My mouth was watering when she sent over the draft and I absolutely can’t wait to try it out myself. I am really making the commitment to cook more in the kitchen, but I’m not the best chef out there. When in doubt, call in the experts. Louisa has amazing recipes that are perfect for twenty-somethings. (And she just started making awesome videos too!) She’s going to be coming back every now and then here to share more recipes… can’t wait!

*****

Who’s ready to get cooking? Whether you want to impress your significant other, your parents or just have your friends over for dinner, a home cooked meal is the way to anyone’s heart. But even more important than impressing that special someone is actually being able to feed yourself, which is why I’m so excited about this cooking series! I’ve got a ton of great recipes coming up over the summer to get you not only comfortable in the kitchen, but also to help you save a bit of money (because as much as I love it, eating out adds up).

To start this fun summer cooking series, I thought a show-stopping shrimp scampi was the way to go. This isn’t your typical, Wednesday night pasta recipe so I would file this away for a special occasion. Perfect for an anniversary, birthday celebration or if you just want to treat your loved ones to a delicious dinner. You might look at this photo and think “There is no way I could make that”, but trust me, you can! This recipe uses pre-cooked shrimp so all you’re doing is cooking the pasta and making a buttery, white wine sauce.

I thought I’d share a couple of tips with each recipe so today’s two tips:

1. Taste your food.

This may seem obvious, but taste your food while you’re cooking. Everybody has different taste so add more salt or pepper if needed.

2. What is minced garlic?

This recipe calls for “minced garlic.” This is when ingredients (the garlic in this case) are chopped into really small pieces. I recommend doing a rough chop of your garlic, then running your knife through it a few times to get it into small pieces.

SHRIMP SCAMPI (serves 4)

1 lb linguine pasta, cooked according to package directions

1 lb frozen, pre-cooked shrimp with shells removed (thaw these the night before)

4 tbsp unsalted butter (half a stick)

2 cloves garlic, minced

8-10 leaves of fresh basil, torn into pieces

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

¼ tsp hot pepper flakes (optional)

½ cup white wine

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large pan, heat butter over medium-low heat.

2. Once butter is melted, add your minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. It will start to smell amazing!

3. Add torn basil leaves and chopped parsley and hot pepper flakes if using. Cook for another 30 seconds.

4. Add in white wine. Turn up heat and bring liquid to a boil. Boil for 2-3 minutes, stirring throughout. Liquid will begin to reduce and thicken and the alcohol will cook out.

5. Turn off the burner and remove from heat, add shrimp to warm them throughout. Toss in 6. pasta. Taste, and season with salt and pepper.

I’ll be sharing a few recipes over the summer and I’d love to see you get in the kitchen and try them out! Share them with Carly and me on Twitter or Instagram, we would love to see what you’re cooking! Any specific recipes you’d like to see? Share in the comments below.