Ina Garten Shrimp Scampi (Easy Dinner Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What does Ina Garten serve with her shrimp scampi? ›

I suggest pairing the Ina Garten shrimp scampi recipe with her chicken soup, pomegranate spritzer or her favorite rosé wine. For dessert, serve Ina Garten's Famous Chocolate Cake.

Scampi are tiny, lobster-like crustaceans with pale pink shells (also called langoustines). Italian cooks in the United States swapped shrimp for scampi, but kept both names. Thus the dish was born, along with inevitable variations.

However, while this task may seem tedious, there are many reasons you should leave the tails on your cooked shrimp. For one, leaving the tails on will help you grip the shrimp better. It will also give your dish extra flavor and moisture and make them look larger and more visually appealing.

Alkaline baking soda slightly alters the pH of the shrimp, making them as plump and succulent as lobster and resistant to overcooking. The brine also causes the meat to pull away from the shells while cooking, so you get all the great flavor of shell-on shrimp without the hassle.

When you add acid (lemon juice) to seafood (shrimp), the acid immediately attacks the proteins, producing an effect akin to cooking. It is NOT cooking, but it's similar in effect. If you mix excellent seafood and vegetables and herbs and such with acid, stir, and wait about 30 minutes in the fridge, you have ceviche.

Should I Soak My Shrimp? This one comes down to the chef's preference. Some prefer to soak seafood in milk before cooking to keep it from tasting too fishy. If you choose to soak your shrimp, you should do so with whole milk for at least 10 minutes.

Most types of shrimp will benefit from the simple, inexpensive process of brining, no matter how you plan on cooking them. Brining is like a marinade but instead of flavoring, it's sole purpose is to keep food tender and moist.

Overcooked shrimp are tough and rubbery. They should really only need about 2 minutes per side. You'll know they're cooked when their tails curl in to form a “C” shape and they turn opaque in color. White Wine – I recommend using a dry white wine like Sauvignon Blanc.

Your shrimp scampi is probably dry because the shrimp cooked too long and dried out. Shrimp go from raw to overcooked fast. Watch the shrimp as they cook, they only need about two minutes.

How do you know when shrimp scampi are cooked? ›

The best way to tell when shrimp are cooked through is to look for visual cues: “Watch for the shrimp to curl and turn opaque,” says Kendra. Undercooked shrimp will be gray and translucent, with uncurled tails. Perfectly cooked shrimp will be opaque with a color ranging from pink or orange, depending on variety.

The best side dishes to serve with shrimp scampi are zucchini noodles, roasted Brussels sprouts, lobster tails, onion rings, mushroom risotto, crispy green beans, Caprese salad, linguine, gluten-free pasta, fresh garden salad, red potatoes, and creamed spinach.

Preheat oven to 220°C/200°C fan/gas mark 7. Remove all packaging and place the scampi on a preheated baking tray in the centre of the oven. Bake for 18 mins, turning halfway through cooking, until crisp and golden. Tuck in.

While the dish is seemingly a staple of Italian-American cuisine, you're unlikely to see “shrimp scampi” listed on dinner menus in Italy. And one of the main reasons is because of its name.