Servings: 4-6                  Prep: 10-15 minutes                 Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

When our families were young, Barbara used to host Christmas Eve dinners in her tiny cape cod house. We never had a sit-down dinner back then so we would be scattered all over the kitchen and living room with 25 adults and children, give or take, but who’s counting? Her shrimp scampi became a favorite part of Christmas Eve dinner but you don’t need to wait for a holiday to enjoy it.  In our families, we usually serve this over pasta topped with Pecorino Romano grated cheese. 😋 😋

Ingredients

• 2 lbs large raw shrimp (if using frozen, defrost first)
• 2 sticks salted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 6-8 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 2 tsp grated lemon peel
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• lemon slices for garnish (may be omitted)
• 16 oz linguine pasta (reserve some of the cooked pasta water for sauce)
• For additional sauce, double the butter, garlic, salt, lemon peel, & lemon juice to have plenty to add for individual tastes.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Remove shells from shrimp, leaving the shell on the tail section only.
3. Devein then wash under running cold water, and drain on paper towels.
4. Melt butter in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish in the oven. Watch that it doesn’t burn as it melts quickly.
5. Add the salt, garlic, and 2 Tablespoon parsley; mix well.
6. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer in a baking dish.
7. Bake uncovered for 5 minutes.
8. Turn the shrimp. Sprinkle with lemon peel, lemon juice, and remaining parsley.
9. Bake 8-10 minutes, or just until tender. Do Not overcook shrimp or they will be tough.  (If using smaller shrimp, cut down on the cooking time)
10. Arrange shrimp on a heated serving platter or serving platter on top of the linguine. Place a few spoonfuls of sauce over top. Garnish with lemon slices then serve with extra sauce in a gravy boat.

Serve over linguini pasta†, rice or a nice crusty Italian bread to soak up the butter.

†If serving over pasta, reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water after cooking to add to the butter sauce before serving.

Variation: Try adding some bay scallops to the shrimp and for those who don’t like shrimp try some seared chicken bites!

For a lighter version see our recipe for Shrimp Scampi Light

Did you make this recipe? We would love to hear from you. Please leave us a comment below or Tag @twinsinthekitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #twiinsinthekitchen.

Added bay scallops to shrimp

Notes: A great meal for a ketogenic diet. Just add some veggies as a side.

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