Shrimp scampi, taken literally, is slightly redundant. Scampi is the Italian word for langoustine, a small member of the lobster family with a pale pink shell that can grow to be up to 10 inches long. So saying shrimp scampi is akin to saying “shrimp lobster” or “shrimp langoustine,” falling prey to the same woes as “chai tea.” (Chai is the Hindi word for tea).
But in modern American English, shrimp scampi has come to represent a specific preparation for a classic Italian-American dish brought to North American shores by immigrants.
“Shrimp scampi has significance for the early immigrants, because in Italy scampi, the spiny langouste varietal, was prepared in this fashion,” chef and cookbook author Lidia Bastianich wrote. “In the United States, shrimp are available, not scampi, so the early immigrants prepared the shrimp they found in the scampi style they remembered.”
That style features a garlicky sauce most often consisting of olive oil, butter, white wine and lemon. This sauce is so good it makes me want to lick the plate whenever I’m in its presence. Instead, the dish is often served with pasta to take advantage of this delicious elixir, but you can also serve it with rice, zoodles or crusty bread for sopping up every last drop.
Since the sauce is really the star, you can “scampi” just about anything. You can find recipes for chicken, cauliflower and mushroom scampi, to name a few, but the classic shrimp is hard to beat.
The shrimp scampi recipe I’ve shared starts by sauteing the shellfish in a combo of olive oil and butter until they just turn pink. With shrimp, it’s important to keep constant watch as they cook very quickly and can turn from perfectly cooked to rubbery in a matter of seconds. Once cooked, set the shrimp aside and then build your sauce in the same skillet.
In addition to the ingredients mentioned earlier, crushed red pepper flakes add a touch of spice and chopped fresh parsley leaves deliver a refreshing, slightly grassy flavor. Extra butter is swirled in at the end to give the sauce more shine — and because more butter is better — before marrying the shrimp and sauce together to serve.