Spaghetti with Rosemary Shrimp Scampi

This blog has featured a lot of desserts lately so I’d like to take the opportunity on this gorgeous Saturday to share a dinner (or lunch) option – another shrimp dish. Yes, we eat a lot of shrimp around here. It’s the go-to dinner option when we’ve forgotten to defrost anything else because shrimp can be defrosted so quickly and easily. This recipe comes from Everyday Food – a magazine I love for its simple, yet delicious, dishes. This dish appealed to me particularly because it allowed me to use some of my fresh rosemary, which is the only one of my herbs still surviving in the cooler fall temperatures here in New England.

I tend to roast my shrimp in the winter or grill them in the summer. This recipe uses neither of those cooking methods and I was intrigued. The defrosted shrimp are added to the pasta water at the end of the pasta’s cooking time, stirred quickly and then drained along with the pasta, making this a one-pot meal which is always a bonus! The shrimp cooked perfectly and the finished dish was delicious! The only change I’d make next time is to add a bit more lemon juice because I really like both the freshness and flavor it adds. This makes a wonderful weeknight meal because it can be prepared in about 30 minutes. It also reheats fairly well for lunch the next day

Spaghetti with Rosemary Shrimp Scampi
from Everyday Food, December 2008 (also available here)

coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces spaghetti
1 pound large (31 to 35) peeled and deveined frozen shrimp, tails on (if desired), thawed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook spaghetti until al dente. Remove and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water from the pot. Add the shrimp to the pot, and stir. Immediately drain spaghetti and shrimp, and set aside (the shrimp will continue to cook).

In same pot, heat oil over medium. Add garlic, rosemary, and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring, until garlic is golden, 1 to 3 minutes.

Remove from heat; return pasta and shrimp to pot. Add lemon juice and enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.