Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Baked Shrimp Scampi


I am a very visual cook. If I see something that looks appetizing in a magazine or cookbook that is enough to certainly get my attention. So when I was watching the food network one afternoon, my brain went on sensory overload. I wanted to make everything I feasted my eyes on. So I quickly wrote down my list of what I wanted to make and headed to the grocery store. Since my husband loves shrimp and I rarely make it, I decided I would try this baked shrimp scampi I saw Ina Garten of the Barefoot Contessa make.


The recipe suggested deveining these yourself, but let me just tell you, have your fish monger do that for you. It’s a tedious job. Not one that interests me if you catch my drift. However, if you are up for the challenge, You Tube is so kind to provide some handy videos on how to do it.


I really liked this dish because it was fairly easy to put together but it was healthy since I heard today that shrimp is mainly water and is only about 10 calories! (Calorie count is an estimate and may vary on brand, and size). Crazy…I may have to start eating a lot more shrimp.


I halved the recipe since it was just the two of us and that was even way more than we could eat. I served this alongside the Mache Salad and the citrus combo was great.


I may just make this for my super bowl party! No canned crap and chips served at my party…no sireee!


Baked Shrimp Scampi
Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten from foodnetwork.com

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 (Or have your fish monger do this for you…hint hint!).

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.

In a 14 inch baking dish, arrange the shrimp in a single later with the cut side down and the tails curling upward. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp, then place the butter mixture over the top.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. You can place it under the broiler for a minute to brown the top. Serve with lemon wedges.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

i've been wanting to try this one. it always catches my eye when i look through her new book.

Sweet as Coco said...

Oh my! You should try it. It was VERY good.

Megan said...

My husband made this dish for New Years Eve - and we loved it! Excellent choice!

Anonymous said...

I just saw her make this on tv! I'm trying it for my husband's birthday.