Shrimp With Linguini

I love shrimp. I love shrimp cooked a variety of ways. I particularly love restaurant style shrimp scampi. What I don't love is the 1,000 calorie price that goes along with the butter laden dish, so naturally, I made my own version at home that's just as tasty, but much healthier for you. Oh, and it passes the guy test. A buddy of mine called me in a panic because he had to make Valentine's Day dinner and this was the recipe I sent to him. It turned out great and trust me, if he could make it, so can you.

Here are our ingredients:

1 lb. of shrimp
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot chopped (optional - I include this if I have shallots on hand)
1/2-3/4 stick of butter
1 cup white wine
2 teaspoons lemon pepper
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
fresh parsley

*With regard to the shrimp, if there's a big savings buying them with the shell on, I'll just peel and devein them as soon as I get them home from the store. If the already peeled and deveined shimp is about the same price, I'll buy them instead and save myself the hassle.

I always get my large pot of water going before I even start gather my ingredients since this dish comes together in about the time it takes for the linguini to cook. In a separate large saute pan, melt your butter.



If I have company, I might throw the whole stick of butter in there, but for just us, I usually stick closer to half a stick. (The restaurant version uses about 3 sticks!) Next, add in your garlic and shallots (if you have them).



Cook just a minute or two before adding in the shrimp.



After about 3 minutes, add in the wine and the lemon pepper. I usually toss in a teaspoon of salt as well. It's really important that you don't overcook the shrimp, so if they're cooking fast, add the wine as soon as they're mostly pink, even if only 1 minute has passed.



Cook for an additional minute while stirring constantly. Turn off the heat and drain your pasta. Put the pasta back into the pot and add the shrimp and sauce in with the linguini. Throw in the parmesan cheese and about a 1/2 cup of chopped parsley.



Stir and serve. I usually garnish with another sprinkle of parm and fresh parsley.



This shrimp has the buttery goodness of the restaurant scampi, but it tastes much lighter and you won't feel like you need to be rolled away from the dinner table at the end of the meal. A bonus is that you can always find deals on shrimp (I got this lb. of wild shrimp for $7.99) so the meal comes in at under $10. Bonus!