Shrimp Scampi - Recipe by Alison Roman

Ingredients

900 g large prawns (shrimp), peeled and deveined
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
350 g dried pasta, like shells, rigatoni, linguine
8 Tbs unsalted butter
2 Tbs olive oil, plus more as needed
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
8–10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 thinly sliced fresh chilli, such as jalapeño, or 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
250mL dry white wine
1 tsp fish sauce, plus more as needed (optional)
2 handfuls parsley, tender leaves and stems, finely chopped
25 g finely chopped chives
2 lemons, halved for squeezing over

Method

Season the prawns with salt and pepper; set aside. (Do not skip this step).

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with a healthy drizzle of olive oil so it doesn’t stick together; set aside. (Usually, I’d have you do this after your pasta ingredients are cooked, but everything happens very quickly and you want the pasta to be ready.
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Heat the butter and olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat until the butter is melted and foamy, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened and is starting to brown on the edges and the garlic is completely softened, 4–6 minutes. If you want a spicy scampi, add the sliced chilli or chilli flakes.

Add the prawns and toss in the hot fat until bright pink on the outside and starting to curl up, about a minute or so. Add the wine and fish sauce (if using), season again with salt and pepper and let the liquid simmer around the prawns, gently steaming and cooking them all the way through, reducing into something that could only be described as a very good sauce.

Toss the prawns and all the fantastic sauce with the parsley, chives and cooked pasta. (Do this in a bowl, do this in the skillet – wherever you have space). The whole thing should be saucy and glossy: two words that always belong together.

Squeeze lemon over everything before serving and scatter with more herbs if you like.

Credits: This is an edited extract from Something from Nothing by Alison Roman, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally from November 11. Photography by Chris Bernabeo.

Photo Credits: This is an edited extract from Something from Nothing by Alison Roman, published by Quadrille. Available in stores nationally from November 11. Photography by Chris Bernabeo.