Shrimp Scampi with Tagliatelle

*dusts off the website and resets password*

It’s been a while since I’ve wanted to actually cook. Maybe I’ve used reacclimating to the cities as an excuse not to cook and just eat out, or maybe it’s because I get fed at work 5 days a week so I don’t really need to cook for myself. But it was kind of nice to just make something for me. Sometimes I forget there’s a difference between cooking for necessity and cooking because I enjoy it, after all, that’s the only reason I started this blog. But today was the day to get back on the proverbial horse. After all, I have invested in a significant amount of cookware so I might as well put it to good use.

Since moving back, I semi-regularly go back to my hometown to help my parents out around the house. In doing so, I try to always make it to the farmer’s market there. I’ve always loved a farmer’s market and you can really get the freshest produce in an affordable setting. The price of food – and almost everything else – in the cities is so much higher than in Austin so I like to find ways to make sure I’m getting the most of each dollar. On this trip, my mom and I picked up kolaches and I got a bundle of fresh garlic (only $4!!). My mom also has a basil plant that’s growing like a weed so I took a handful of that with me before I left.

So now I had two ingredients to build a dish around – basil and garlic – and while I normally would lean into cooking a steak, I ultimately decided on shrimp scampi with fresh pasta. A quick morning walk around one of the many lakes the cities has to offer, then off to the grocery store to get the rest of the ingredients I needed. A relaxing day in the kitchen just messing around turned into one of the best meals I’ve had in a while.

Shrimp Scampi with Pasta
1 lb pasta – preferably tagliatelle or similar 
2 tbsp olive oil
8 tbsp unsalted butter
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 lb colossal shrimp, raw (shell-on or peeled)
3 tbsp chopped basil
1 lemon, zested and cut into wedges for serving
Kosher salt & freshly cracked pepper

Instructions

Bring a large stock pot (5 quarts) of heavily salted water to a boil. Proceed to cook the pasta to package instructions until al dente stirring occasionally. *If you don’t want to cook the pasta at the same time as the following steps, remove it from the water and set it aside but reserve 1 cup of the pasta water for the sauce. 

Meanwhile, heat a large (5 quart) sauté pan over medium-low heat and add the olive oil and butter. Once the butter is completely melted but not browning, add in the thinly sliced shallot and let cook for 1-2 minutes or until just softened, and then add in the 4 cloves of thinly sliced garlic and let cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Next, add the shrimp to the garlic butter sauce and cook them for 1 minute or until the shrimp has just started to turn pink, then flip and cook for an additional minute or until fully pink and starting to curl. *If using shell-on shrimp, remove from the pan and let cool slightly to remove the shell and then add back into the pan. Add in the zest of one lemon and 3 tbsp of chopped basil, stirring until well mixed. Carefully add the pasta to the pan and mix everything together until the pasta is well coated with garlic butter sauce, adding reserved pasta water as needed to help create a glossy sauce. 

Remove from heat, and serve with a wedge of lemon and freshly cracked pepper. 

Happy Eating!!
Kelly