The BEST Shrimp Scampi over Linguini recipe, Really!

The BEST Shrimp Scampi over Linguini recipe

O.k., really, this is THE best shrimp scampi I have ever tasted!  This recipe if a combination of my shrimp scampi recipe that I have tweaked over the years plus my Italian mother in laws recipe.  This is a no brainer but will taste like you slaved away in the kitchen!

Ingredients

1 lb. pasta  (I prefer linguini but use whatever you like)

1 lb. shrimp (peeled and deveined)

1 -2 shallots (chopped)

8-9 cloves garlic (minced) Use fresh garlic, not jarred, for better flavor.

3/4 cup white wine (drinking wine, not cooking wine)

2-3 Tbsp. olive oil (I prefer the extra virgin kind)

2 Tbsp. butter or butter substitute ( I use "I can't believe it's not butter" when making this just for us, real butter for company)

Salt and pepper to taste.

LOTS of Parmesan cheese ( I prefer Locatella, it has a great, sharp flavor)  I probably use almost a cup of cheese.

Directions

Cook pasta, SAVE about 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining, this is really important as the starch in the pasta water is what you are wanting.

In another pan heat up the olive oil and add the chopped shallots and garlic. You want to lightly brown or caramelize the shallots and garlic.  When you are about halfway through cooking them add the shrimp to the pan.

When the shallot and garlic are caramelized add the wine, you can adjust the amount to your liking.

Next add the butter and the reserved pasta water.  Bring this to a good simmer as you want the wine to burn off.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

I then add the drained pasta directly to my sauté pan in order to really coat it well.  You want to stir this around really good so that the pasta gets coated with the scampi.

Next add cheese to taste and serve!  If you have fresh parsley you can add that to this dish as well.  I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!