Last night I made arancini and with each bite memories of my favorite childhood dishes drifted in. By the time I woke up this morning I was craving either shrimp scampi or white clam sauce. I decided to combine them both and make a hearty, protein packed pasta dish. This is the best scampi I've ever made! Shockingly it uses scant amounts of olive oil and butter. The flavors are spot on, there's zing from the lemon, a tongue tingle from red pepper and some verdant freshness from parsley. It tastes better than the restaurant. While it's not the lowest in carbs, all in all, this dish is satisfying, low in fat and high in protein. It'll be making a regular appearance on my table going forward.
TIPS:
- Use a wine you love, even if it's sweeter or dryer than recommended. I confess I ended up using a sparkling rose and it turned out phenomenal.
- Don't skip making the shrimp stock. The extra 5 minutes is worth the flavor bomb.
- Add the lemon and zest in stages and to your taste. This is a dish of the senses. Taste your way through.
- Mince the parsley very finely and avoid using the stems because it'll add an annoying crunch to the dish.
- Reserve some of the pasta cooking liquid in case you need it to loosen the sauce. I didn't need it but I always like to have a little extra on hand.
- If you don't drink wine, clam juice can be substituted.
- This is a bit brothy, to thicken add about 1/4 teaspoon of cornstarch to the lemon juice and heat a little until thickened before removing from the heat and letting the dish sit.
- To reduce carbs, zoodles or hearts of palm can be used.
{Click here to print recipe}
523 cals/13g fat/33g protein/47 carb/3g sugar
INGREDIENTS:
6 shelled shrimp, deveined, shells removed but reserved
1/2 cup white wine
3 garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and chopped thickly
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes [I used about 2-3 shakes]
1/2 lemon, juiced and zest
Kosher salt
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Cooking Spray
6.5 can of clams and its juice
1 teaspoon light butter
2 ounces linguine
small handful of parsley, finely minced
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook linguine to just under al dente. While pasta is cooking, simmer shrimp shells and wine on medium heat in a 9 inch skillet for 5 minutes until reduced and shells have white spots on them. While shells are cooking spray shrimp with EVOO, liberally season with kosher salt, a sprinkle of lemon zest [approx. 1/4 teaspoon] and a bit of the lemon juice, toss to coat. Strain shrimp shells, reserving the stock. Dry out pan if needed. Return skillet to medium-low heat add garlic and red pepper flakes for about 1 1/2 minutes until fragrant and garlic is golden. Add shrimp stock, clams, clam juice and shrimp. Turn heat to medium. When it simmers, cover and cook until shrimp is opaque. Once shrimp is cooked through, turn off heat and add lemon juice and remaining lemon zest to taste, reserving a bit of lemon juice to finish later. Add cooked linguine, and butter, toss to mix. Cover and let rest off the heat for about 5 minutes. Once rested toss with fresh parsley, a little extra lemon juice [if you want] and adjust seasoning to taste. I added a bit more zest and juice for freshness.
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