The best. In the whole wide world. And I mean it.
My husband used to be far less adventurous with the range of foods that he was willing to try. When we met, he lived on a tried-and-true diet of Red Baron’s Sausage & Pepperoni, Stouffer’s Lasagna, and Buitoni cheese tortellini with Prego and ground beef.
I’ll eat anything you want to cook, he now promises. And he does. I don’t usually stay inside the box but I do generally stick quasi-close to the edges so he doesn’t go hungry. I know he likes shrimp, garlic, and butter so I didn’t think I could go any kinds of wrong with Ina Garten’s Baked Shrimp Scampi – next to homemade pizza, it’s one of the safest choices on this week’s menu.
This Baked Shrimp Scampi isfantastic – buttery, garlicky, and lemony. I think it’s what shrimp were created for. And butter. And garlic and lemon! And maybe now I’ve drawn your attention away from that little dangling preposition back there.
But speaking of buttery… let’s chat. The recipe as written calls for a stick and a half of butter. That’s 12 whopping tablespoons of an ingredient that’s mostly left behind when you scoop out the shrimp with a slotted spoon. It seems like such a waste so I’ve reduced the butter by 1/3 with plenty good results in the final dish.
Baked Shrimp Scampi
Butter, lemon, garlic, and a crunchy topping are an excellent twist on the classic shrimp scampi.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs shrimp, peeled, deveined, and butterflied
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp dry white wine
- 2 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 1 1/4 tsp cracked black pepper, divided
- 8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup minced shallots or onion
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- Zest and juice from one lemon
- 1 egg yolk
- 2/3 cup bread crumbs or Panko (I used 2 slices of 7-grain bread, processed into course crumbs)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425.
- Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss with the olive oil, wine 2 tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of black pepper. Let sit and prepare the topping.
- In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, parsley, onion, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, bread crumbs (reserving some for the topping), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper until well mixed.
- Arrange the shrimp in a single layer in a medium baking dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp.
- Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 12-15 minutes until hot and bubbly.
- Sprinkle the remaining bread crumbs over the top and turn the broiler on for 1 minute or until golden brown.
- Serve with lemon wedges and dish with a slotted spoon to leave all the extra butter behind.
- To freeze: Assemble entire dish minus the garnish crumbs, wrap tightly, and freeze. Thaw in the fridge overnight before baking (plan to add an extra 10 minutes to the baking time).
Notes
Yields: 6-8 servings
Estimated time: 25 minutes
Well hey, glad YOU liked it!! 😀
This looks super duper yummy! Maybe you should plan to make enough for just one and reheat him some of that Stouffers one day..
For what it’s worth, I am more than happy to eat his portion!
I have the same problem with some dishes. I will only make them again when I know my husband has a late night at work or something else going on that means he’ll miss dinner. I’d happily take his portion of that dish though… looks incredible!
That looks yummy! What about this dish didn’t he like?
Too bad he didn’t like it! This is the first recipe I knew I HAD to make when I got this cookbook. I’ll be trying it very soon, so I’m glad to know you thought it was good!
my husband’s polite way of saying he doesn’t like something is, “what is that flavor i’m tasting?”
I have this saved from when I saw it on the show recently. I think it looks really good, glad you liked it even though your husband didn’t!
It does look DELICIOUS. And sadly, I feel your pain. My husband subsists on chicken, cheese and barbecue sauce. Seriously… that’s about it… and I LOVE TO cook.
Baked shrimp scampi is a great idea! It looks really good! Bookmarked
Awww that’s too bad! I loved it too and luckily have no complainers in my household 🙂
I linked to your entry about this dish: http://whatsonmyplate.wordpress.com/2009/01/05/baked-shrimp-scampi/
This looks divine and it’s too bad your husband didn’t care for it! Mine can’t get enough shrimp so I look forward to making this!
What didn’t he like about it? Looks great to me!
My husband is the same way. Maybe even pickier. He doesn’t like anything lemon flavored, pesto, spinach and other delicious things. I sneak them in.
Basically, he’s used to him mom’s cooking. They don’t even keep fresh garlic in the house!
You can have me over for dinner anytime:) This looks wonderful!
Oh my gosh! That’s my hubby too! He can sniff out ANYTHING out of the ordinary. I once wanted to ‘kick up’ some meatballs and put a hint of grape jelly in it. Yup, he sniffed it out and literally asked the same thing ‘what did you do differently?’ ::sigh::
Next time you make this I’ll eat it with you 🙂 Looks amazing to me.
LOL- that is how my husband is as well. Though he says, “is this new?” or “is this how we normally have it?” and I know he is not liking it. That and he moves it around on the plate.
This looks so good I can’t see how anyone would not want it.
*SIGH* My husband is like yours, but doesn’t eat seafood. That dish looks devine, just wish I could make it at home without “Do I smell fish cooking??”
I made this last night for dinner. My boyfriend practically inhaled it!
How could your husband not be totally crazy about this dish? Garlic, butter, lemon, shrimp?! Perfection! I love Ina. <3
That looks really good! I think I will make it tonight.
This looks and sounds amazing! I’m definitely trying this!
what a bummer that he didn’t like it. some of my most frustrated moments in married life come with incidents like this. glad you liked it though and thanks for the review. i’ve had my eye on this one for a while!
My partner, from thebakerandthecurrymaker.blogspot.com just emailed this link to me with the subject reading “Sounds like someone I know.”
Had to laugh while reading this, as I can totally relate to your husband! Dish looks good, and by the sounds of it, it’ll be on the menu tonight!….the Baked Shrimp Scampi, not “it”…..just clarifying 🙂
Amazing….hubby and bubba LOVE it! Easy to make even for the first time with a 10mo old at you feet 🙂
Oh I cannot wait to make this for my boyfriend. He did say he’d eat anything with cooked with garlic butter and this just looks so yummy.
Funny that your recipe is pretty much the exact same recipe as The Barefoot Contesse!
How is that?
Because it *is* Ina Garten’s recipe. Did you not bother reading to the end?
Made this so many times and always a winner. Want to do one and freeze it to take on vacay. My concern is this. I always thaw my shrimp to make this dish. Is it ok to re freeze? Most of the shrimp we purchase has already been frozen once!
what to do with the onions
should they be in dry mixture?
Yes – added to the breadcrumb mixture.
I have made shrimp scampi, 100 times. This was sooo much better. Awesome recipe.