Shrimp Scampi over Orzo Pasta

I was craving some shrimp the other day and wanted to do something a little different.  Fried Shrimp are delicious, but I've had a lot of those in the past little while.  And the weather wasn't perfect, so barbecuing a few skewers was out.

So I experimented with some shrimp scampi.  Scampi style requires you to saute your shrimp in a rather hot garlic butter and wine sauce.  The actual cooking time for the shrimp is very short, the preparation takes a little time, mainly because you need to remove the tails.  Why?

Well we're also making some pasta as a serving bed for the shrimp when we're done.  We're going to boil the tails in the water to add just a little bit of shrimp flavor into the small orzo pasta, as well as a little lemon and pepper.

If you haven't had orzo pasta, it's something rather unique.  They look like over-sized rice grains when they are cooked and cook rather fast compared to other pastas.  In this recipe, we'll cook up a batch as we're sauteing the shrimp.  As for the shrimp tails, we're going to toss them in the water as it comes to a boil so we can get a little extra shrimp flavor infused into the pasta.

Shrimp Scampi Over Orzo Pasta

Feeds 4

Shrimp Preparation
1 1/4 pound shrimp, shelled, deveined - tails off, but not thrown away
Salt and pepper
5 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 tablespoon lemon juice, squeezed from a lemon, not from a bottle...
2 teaspoons finely chopped or dried parsley

Orzo Preparation
4 quarts of water
Shrimp tails
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
8 ounces Orzo pasta


Prepare your shrimp.  Take off the tails but do not throw them away.  We need them for the pasta. 

Speaking of the pasta... Place the 4 quarts of water in a large stockpot along with the shrimp tails, black pepper and lemon.  Crank the heat up to high and bring the water to a boil.  Allow the tails to boil in the pot for about 5 minutes.  Then remove the tails and add the pasta.  This will cook within 8-12 minutes so check for doneness while you're working on the shrimp.

Place a large skillet over low heat and add the butter and garlic.  Allow the butter to sweat the garlic for about 3-4 minutes to extract some flavor.  Shake in a little salt and pepper.  Add the wine and lemon juice and elevate the heat to medium and cook for another 4 minutes.

The pasta should be done.  Strain into a collander (with small holes so the orzo doesn't escape) and set it aside while you finish the shrimp.

Add the shrimp to the skillet, making sure all of them are touching the bottom of the skillet, no layering.  Cook for 2 minutes, then flip.  Sprinkle the parsley over the dish and cook for another 2 minutes on the other side.  While you're waiting for them to finish, grab some plates and dish out the orzo, so the shrimp have a landing pad when they're done.

After the last two minutes are done, take the skillet off the heat and immediately portion out the shrimp onto the little orzo beds you've created.  Pour the leftover butter sauce over each portion equally

Add the vegetable of your choice as a side dish and you'll have a great well rounded meal.