Lemony Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

I've started DVR'ing Ten Dollar Dinners, and this dish looked SO good. I've always wanted to do more seafood at home so I thought this would be easy peasy to try at home. I LOVE lemon anything. This biggest hurdle I am facing right now (trying to go gluten free), is staying away from that lemon pound cake at Starbucks! So I tried the recipe as directed, and we all agreed, it's too lemony for us. I also questioned the merit of making the shrimp stock, but when we were finished, realized it was worth the effort. I figure the more I work with shrimp, the more efficient I will be at peeling and deveining.

I also question how shows and articles like this conclude how "cheap" meals like this is. I will not proclaim this meal was a ten dollar dinner. The wild caught shrimp was $8.99/lb at Whole Foods, on sale. I double checked at Food Lion, and you can get farm raised shrimp from Thailand for $6.99/lb regular price, but my conscience says stick with Whole Foods ;) Melissa d'Arabian claims she can get three bunches of parsley for a dollar. I have never in my life seen it at that price! The angel hair pasta, being gluten free, was in the $3 range, so we'll call this a $15 dinner and be happy- because we enjoyed it :o)

The next time I make it, I will make the following tweaks:

Lemony Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

• 6 garlic cloves, pressed or grated
• 1 lemon, half zested, and both halves juiced
• 5 tablespoons EVOO
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterflied (reserve shells)
• 1/4 onion
• 8 oz thin angel hair pasta (we will use a gluten free brand)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 handful parsley leaves, chopped

Directions

Peel and devein the shrimp. If you are as slow as I am, do this earlier in the day, ahead of time!

In a bowl, combine the garlic, zest of half of the lemon and juice of the whole, EVOO, salt and pepper, to taste, and the shrimp. Set aside. 

Shrimp stock: In a small pot, over medium heat, add the shrimp shells and onion. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain into a bowl and discard the shells and the onion.


Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat and add a generous amount of salt. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, 2 minutes less than instructed on the package. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water.


Heat a skillet over high heat. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink and start to caramelize, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan to a plate and add the remaining marinade. Let cook a few minutes then add about 1 cup of shrimp stock and about 1/2 cup pasta water. Continue to cook until sauce reduces by half.

Add the zest and juice of the remaining lemon, the butter and the parsley and stir to combine. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste. Add in the shrimp and pasta and toss to combine with the sauce.

Serve immediately.