Shrimp Scampi With Angel Hair Pasta

Shrimp Scampi with Angel Hair Pasta is absolutely one of my favorite Italian dishes and when my dad was alive, he would take me to a place called Cafe Cipriani, in Las Colinas on my birthdays. They had the most amazing scampi I’ve ever had, even to this day.

For me, from age 10 to about 17,  Cipriani was a magical, dress up, place where you walked in on the top floor and took a beautiful glass elevator to the lower floor for dinner. The owner Silvano would sometimes sing to you.

I have such beautiful memories of that place and of being dads date.

Since he passed and Cipriani closed, I have tried to find a recipe that came close, to no avail. So I went back in time in my mind and tried to come close. My recipe is an homage to what I remember their dish tasting like but I lighten it up a bit and make it my own, natch.

The important thing is that when I eat it, I think of dad.

When I need seafood, I go to Sprout’s in Cedar Hill, which is to say that I drive 20 minutes across two towns to get the good stuff.

“If I were a rich girl, na, na, na, na, na, na…”

…I would be at that store 3-4 times a week. Not kidding.

Go for the raw, uncooked shrimp over the already cleaned, deveined and boiled ones. It’s way cheaper and since your going to pan sear the shrimp, you need those babies raw. Be sure to peel, devein, wash and pat them dry!

 

Go ahead and prep your lemons, garlic and parsley. You can cut your toms in half if you wanna.

I think now is the appropriate time to tell you that I am addicted to and utterly obsessed with chopping, slicing and mincing.

While my knife skills are admittedly abysmal, there is nothing I love more in the kitchen than a cutting board covered in colorful little piles of chopped up noms.

(Check my Instagram and you’ll see!)

ALSO I’m a huge fan of having everything all ready to throw in the pan at the exact moment it’s needed. I have less anxiety over the stove later and minimize the chance of burning things when I’m all ready to go. Trust me, I’ve burned a LOT of food.

Prepping ahead of time is the way to go.

Grab a huge, non stick, T-Fal pan and put in your olive oil and your butter over low- med heat. When the butter starts to turn golden brown, throw in your shrimp.

Give the shrimp about 30 seconds on one side, then flip. Then 30 more seconds then flip. Do this for about two, maybe two and a half minutes or until they have a nice sear and are cooked all the way through.

Remove them from the pan and set them aside.

Add the garlic and give it a few stirs in the pan. We don’t want to burn the garlic so watch your heat.

Now deglaze your pan with your favorite dry white wine. Add the lemon juice, more butter, the capers, tomatoes, seared shrimp. Stir.

Add your cooked and drained angel hair pasta directly to the pan and give it a good toss. Add the parsley, toss again. Boom!

You’re ready to plate!

Garnish/ Tweaks:

For a scampi I personally prefer to garnish with the good old fashioned Kraft parmesan and romano cheese in the green can, I know it’s corny but I feel like the heavy texture coats the dish so beautifully and I associate that thickness with scampi over an ordinary shrimp pasta. Then top it with a really good shaved parm.

If you wanna add a little heat, toss in the teeniest, tiniest pinch of red pepper flake to the pan with the garlic. I omit this step but I know a lot of folks like that spicy snap in their scampi. If that’s you, have at it! 🙂

For a really fresh and healthy twist you can also serve this scampi with asparagus. Just chop the spears into one inch pieces and throw them in your pan after you remove the shrimp and before you add the garlic.

Whip it up, switch it up and let me know your results!

Enjoy!