Barefoot Bloggers: Baked Shrimp Scampi

I have a Valentine's day tradition to make a fancy dinner for my wife and I was hoping that this months recipe would be something I could use. Well since my wife doesn't eat shrimp I was a little disappointed at first - this would be another recipe I would not make since it would be only for myself. I thought about it a little more and thought - why not try it with chicken? Even better - why not do chicken and shrimp?

I'm not sure I have ever actually cooked with shrimp. The first thing I discovered was how hard it is to find some nice large shrimp in Minnesota. None of the grocery stores near me seemed to have what I needed so I ended up having to go to Coastal Seafoods - a specialty seafood store that I knew would have them and they did not disappoint.

The scampi was very easy to make. Since I was doing shrimp and chicken I made only a quarter recipe of each and made them in individual gratin dishes. The recipe makes it really easy to make part chicken since the meat really only comes into play at the end. I cut up a chicken breast into pieces about the same size as the shrimp. I even "butterflied" them like the shrimp. I put the chicken in the oven a little earlier since I thought it might take longer but I don't think it was necessary. As you can see from the pictures my shrimp browned a little too much on the top - only because I was busy taking pictures of the chicken and let the shrimp go too long.

The shrimp and the chicken were both terrific. I haven't had good shrimp like that in a long time and they were simple to make. The chicken was good too and my wife and son enjoyed it. Thanks to Jill at Insanely Good Food for this recipe. I have got to try the Mustard Wings she has on her site - they look really good.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

(Source: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, pages 128-129)

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
• 3 tablespoons good olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dry white wine
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
• 1/4 cup minced shallots
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 extra-large egg yolk
• 2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.
3. In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.
4. Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.