Shrimp Scampi Light – Twiins Style 🍤🍤

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

Adapting our family favorite recipes into healthier versions has been a goal of ours this year. We never thought our beloved shrimp scampi could ever be healthy and still taste great. It was a challenge however, we succeeded to reduce the fat by 75% and keep all the flavor!  This lighter version tastes just as good as the original with a few minor tweaks. Our family enjoyed it and didn’t miss the fat. If you’re looking for a healthier, quick weeknight dinner, give this a try.😋 😋

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs large raw shrimp (*to make your own homemade shrimp broth buy fresh large shrimp with the heads still attached – see recipe link below)
  • 4  Tablespoons salted butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 8 large garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped (divided)
  • 3/4 cup homemade shrimp broth (clam juice or chicken broth can be substituted)
  • 2 tsp grated lemon zest
  • 4 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • lemon slices for garnish (may be omitted)
  • 1 lb Barilla Linguine
  • reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water after cooking to add to the garlic lemon juice before serving.

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  2. Bring pasta water to a boil then add salt to the boiling water. Cover and lower flame to keep hot while prepping shrimp.
  3. Remove shells from shrimp, leaving the shell on the tail section only if preferred.
  4. Devein & wash under cold running water, then drain well on paper towels.
  5. Melt butter in a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan in the oven.
  6. Once melted, add the salt, garlic, 1/2 the shrimp broth, and 1/2 the chopped parsley; mix well.
  7. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer in the baking pan.
  8. Bake uncovered for 2-3 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. (keep your eye on them)
  9. Turn the shrimp over, sprinkle with lemon zest, lemon juice, remaining shrimp broth, and remaining parsley.
  10. Bake 2-3 minutes, or just until tender & opaque. Do Not overcook shrimp or they will be tough.  (If using smaller shrimp, cut down on the cooking time)
  11. Remove the shrimp, toss some linguine in the pan with the garlic lemon juice. Place a portion of pasta on a plate. Pour a little additional sauce on pasta and top with shrimp.
  12. Sprinkle your desired amount of Pecorino Romano cheese and garnish with lemon slices if desired.

Shrimp Broth

Ingredients

  • 2 ¼  lbs fresh large shrimp with heads attached.
  • Add 2 carrots, cut in half
  • Add 2 stalks of celery, cut in half
  • Add 1 large onion, quartered (red or yellow)
  • 3 large bay leaves
  • 12 peppercorns
  • Enough water to just cover all ingredients

 

Directions

  1. Remove the heads by twisting downward and off. Place in an 8-quart stockpot.
  2. Remove all the legs and shells from the shrimp and place them in the stockpot.
  3. Set shrimp aside for scampi
  4. Add the vegetables, peppercorns, bay leaves, and enough water just to cover the shells and vegetables.
  5. Bring to a slow simmer and simmer for about 2 hours. The liquid should reduce by 1/3 and turn a beautiful shrimp color.
  6. Never let the heat get to a boil. Keep on a slow simmer for 1½ to 2 hours.
  7. Remove from heat. Let cool completely.
  8. Strain all ingredients and discard everything but the broth.
  9. Using cheesecloth, strain again to remove all sediment.
  10. You are now ready to use for scampi or freeze for later use. It’s worth making…

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https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFE_9i4ZkY96NT1s4IAaKaw

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.

 

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Low Carb Zucchini Shrimp Scampi 🍤🍤

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

One of our favorite all-time meals to eat is Shrimp Scampi over linguine pasta, topped with Pecorino Romano grated cheese, some crusty Italian bread to soak up the lemony butter sauce and we’re in heaven!  Since Barbara is back on Keto, we wanted to come up with the same delicious flavor without the carbs. Zucchini is an amazing vegetable that takes the place of pasta and delivers all the delicious flavor of our original shrimp scampi recipe. We decided to make a one-pan dish so we used the electric skillet. It’s large and can accommodate all the shrimp in a single layer plus all the spiralized zucchini.  If your watching carbs, please give it a try. We promise you will not miss the pasta!  😋 😋

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs large raw shrimp
  • 2 sticks salted butter
  • 10 medium zucchini and/or summer squash, spiralized
  • 1/2 stick salted butter for zucchini
  • 1-2 tsp salt
  • 8 Dorot frozen garlic cubes (we use for consistency)
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
  • 2 tsp grated lemon peel
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • lemon slices for garnish (optional)
  • Pecorino Romano, grated

Instructions

  1. Remove shells from shrimp, leaving the shell on the tail section if desired.
  2. Devein then wash under running cold water, and drain on paper towels; pat dry.
  3. In the electric skillet on the warmest setting, melt 2 sticks of salted butter.
  4. When butter is melted, add the salt, garlic, and 2 Tablespoon parsley; mix well.
  5. Arrange the shrimp in a single layer in the skillet.
  6. Raise skillet temperature to 300ºF. As soon as shrimp start to turn pink (1 or 2 minutes) quickly turn the shrimp over and ower to warm setting again.
  7. Sprinkle with lemon peel, lemon juice, and remaining parsley. Raise temperature to 300ºF.
  8. Cook about 1-2 minutes longer or just until shrimp are tender. Do Not overcook shrimp or they will be tough.  (If using smaller shrimp, cut down on the cooking time)
  9. Remove shrimp with half the scampi sauce and set aside in a bowl.
  10. Add the 1/2 stick of butter to the skillet then add the spiralized zucchini to the scampi sauce and stir well to coat with sauce. Cover and cook until zucchini are soft but not overcooked.
  11. Arrange the desired amount of zucchini noodles (zoodles) in a pasta dish then top with shrimp. Add some of the reserved scampi sauce on top. Grate some Pecorino Romano cheese and garnish with a thin slice of lemon (optional).

Notes: If you don’t have an electric skillet please use our oven method Shrimp Scampi recipe then cook the zucchini separate using 1/2 stick butter in a large skillet with half the scampi sauce reserve from shrimp cooked in the oven.

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

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Shrimp Scampi 🍤🍤

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.

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

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