Butter... Paula Dean's favorite dessert. It's good in most things and shrimp scampi is no exception. I love this dish because it's amazingly simple and incredibly versatile. Can be served with pasta and/or crisp bread. I chose to do both because we ended up with unexpected visitors the night we served this and wanted a more filling plate.
Ingredients:
Adapted from Food & Wine's November Issue - "Sizzling Shrimp Scampi"
1 stick of unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
Zest from 1 lemon
Juice from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
Fresh Gruyere cheese, grated
Preheat oven to 450 F.
In a medium bowl, mix butter, garlic, 1/2 tablespoon parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and thyme. Season with pepper and salt.
In a large baking dish, arrange the shrimp around the dish, tails up. It's best if you use a circular dish for this. Spread the butter mixture on top of the shrimp and roast in oven for about 10 minutes. The shrimp should be nice a pink and the butter should be bubbling.
Sprinkle shrimp with remaining parsley and basil leaves. Grate some Gruyere cheese on top and serve hot on top of linguine or crostini bread.
This was absolutely delicious. The shrimp was succulent and the buttery flavor was just amazing. I recommend this for anyone looking for a quick fix on a weeknight or when in a pinch! Enjoy!
