Shrimp Scampi

The brilliance of my mother shows in this recipe. When I sat down to ask her about it, she took out two cookbooks, opened them to various different pages, and said “I do this, but not this, use these ingredients, and half of these instructions and then do this in the other book.” It is, without a doubt, one of my favorite recipes of all time.

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp, shelled and deveined

• 8 tbsp butter (4 tbsp for cooking, 4 tbsp at the end)

• 1⁄3 cup finely chopped shallots (1 large shallot or 2 small shallots)

• 1⁄2 tsp red pepper flakes

• 1⁄4 cup dry white wine

• Salt and pepper, to taste

• 1 cup heavy cream

• 1⁄2 lb spinach linguine

• 1⁄2 lb egg (regular) linguine

Directions

1. Saute shallots in 4 tbsp butter for about 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook for about 1 minute, tossing gently. Add white wine and cook for another 1 minute. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

2. Add the cream, when the sauce comes to a boil, cook over high heat for about 3 or 4 minutes. Turn off the heat and set the skillet aside.

3. Spinach pasta will cook at a different rate than regular pasta, so they may need to be cooked in separate pots. Cook pastas until al dente, then strain and combine in one large pot. Add the remaining 4 tbsp butter and toss.

4. Pour the pasta into a serving bowl, and pour the scampi over the pasta. Toss gently.

Recipe by Robin Keil