Shrimp/jumbo prawns – 16 to 20, peeled and deveined
Capellini/ Angel hair pasta – 400 gms
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Unsalted butter – 5 tbsp
Garlic – 6 cloves, minced
Chilli flakes – 1 tbsp
Dry white wine – 1 cup
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp
Lemon zest – 1 tsp
Flat leaf parsley – ½ cup, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated parmesan cheese (optional) – ¼ cup [You can substitute parmesan with any other hard cheese like Monterey Jack or mild cheddar. Mozzarella or processed cheese will not work here. You can even skip the cheese and it will still be delicious, as I myself has tried it without cheese!]
Instructions
Cook the capellini according to package instructions. Capellini or angel hair pasta is a very thin, long pasta which takes just 2 to 3 minutes to cook in boiling water [Make sure to season the water with good amount of salt]. Once done, drain and rinse with cold water. Let all the water drain out. Then add a teaspoon of olive oil so they don’t stick. Set aside while you prepare the lemon wine sauce for shrimp.
In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and add the peeled and deveined shrimps. Fry the shrimps for a minute until they turn pink on both sides.
Next add the minced garlic, chilli flakes and butter. Let the garlic become fragrant and butter melt.
Now deglaze the pan by adding white wine. Let it boil on medium high heat so that most of the alcohol smell boils off. [Try to use a dry white wine as it will have less or no sweetness, else your pasta may turn out to be sweet.]
Next add the lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix everything well. There should be still some liquid left in the pan which will help the capellini absorb all the flavors.
Add the boiled pasta to the pan and give a good stir. The sauce will be almost absorbed by the pasta. Remove from heat.
Garnish your shrimp scampi with fresh parsley and serve capellini with shrimp scampi warm with your favorite wine! Enjoy!
Recipe by Flavor Quotient at http://www.flavorquotient.com/2015/08/shrimp-scampi-with-capellini/