Alaskan spot prawn scampi

Now that we’re mostly settled into the new house, we’ve discovered how much fun it can be to pour over cookbooks together after a simple meal. One of our newest cookbooks is

Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics.  Knowing we had 2 pounds of Alaskan spot prawns in the freezer from the University District Farmers Market, we decided to make scampi.

This recipe is incredibly simple. It’s even fast if your shrimp or prawns are already peeled, The spot prawns at the University District Farmers Market aren’t peeled, and they do require a bit of cleaning. Once the spot prawns are cleaned though, you can finish the recipe in under 40 minutes.

Alaskan Spot Prawn Scampi, adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

• 2 pounds Alaskan spot prawns (or shrimp… approximately 12-15 per pound)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp white wine
• Salt and pepper
• 1.5 sticks of butter, softened
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 medium shallots
• 1-2 tsp fresh rosemary
• 1 dried hot pepper
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 egg yolk
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs (Panko is best)

Peel, devein, and butterfly all of the prawns. It’s incredibly easy to butterfly a prawn. Just hold it in your hand and use a paring knife to make a slit along the outer curve of theprawn. Cut almost halfway through, the entire length of the prawn. Place the prawns in a bowl and mix with the olive oil, white wine, salt, and pepper.

Mince the garlic, shallots, rosemary, and dried red pepper. Mix those ingredients with the softened butter, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, and bread crumbs.

Preheat the oven to 425. Drizzle some olive oil in a shallow baking dish and arrange the prawns around the dish. Start with arranging them around the outside of the dish and then mak,e a second ring if you need to. The prawns should be placed cut side down, with the butterflied wings separated. The largest part of the prawn should be towards the center of the dish and the tail should be folded over the top towards the center.

Spread the topping over the prawns. I found it easier to take small spoonfulls of the toping and dot over the prawns. When you’re done, the dish should be mostly covered with topping.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Serve over rice or pasta.

Results: This was a great dish. Spot prawns are pink to begin with, unlike other species of shrimp that only turn pink when they’re cooked. If you like your shrimp or prawns a little less done, you can easily shorten the cooking time of this dish by a couple of minutes. Next time I’ll use at least two dried red peppers and I’ll probably also throw one of them in the marinade.

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Tagged as: prawns, shrimp