Almost Italian

Shrimp Scampi is a relative newcomer to the menus at neighborhood Italian restaurants—probably because it represents the first significant departure from recipes based on tomato sauce. According to the culinary research published on the Food Timeline, “The earliest reference to shrimp scampi in The New York Times is a restaurant advertisement published May 9, 1956 for The Tenakill Restaurant in Englewood NJ.”

Until I began looking into the origins of the dish, it hadn’t occurred to me that scampi, in the Italo-American lexicon, refers as much to the method of preparation as it does to the main ingredient. The word scampi didn’t appear in the Random House Unabridged Dictionary until 1925. At the time, it was defined as the plural form of the Italian word, scampo, “a large shrimp or prawn” and “a dish of shrimp or prawns grilled or sautéed in oil or butter and garlic.”

Away from the Gulf Coast, significant numbers of shrimp dishes didn’t show up on menus until Prohibition, and then, mostly in dainty shrimp salads and the Shrimp Cocktails of our previous post. After WWII, Shrimp Scampi began to appear on the menus of metropolitan, “Continental” restaurants. This was also the period when American French restaurants began to add “Italian” specialties to their offerings. Dishes like Chicken Tetrazzini and Spaghetti Bolognaise (note the French spelling) would appear cheek-by-jowl with Duck a l’Orange and Sole Meunière.

For generations, Italians have enjoyed the simple classic, gamberi alla casalinga, home-style shrimp. The dish is a simple combination of shrimp, sautéed in olive oil with garlic, red pepper flakes, and lemon juice. Shrimp Scampi includes butter and white wine.

I have a theory about how these last two defining ingredients got into the dish we call Shrimp Scampi: I believe a restaurant chef in America became aware of Gamberi alla Casalinga, and in the process of trying to Frenchify it for an upscale clientele, added the wine and butter. From that elevation, Shrimp Scampi crept back to the Little Italy communities, where it has established a comfortable and permanent residence—more often than not on a bed of linguine.

As we like to say whenever we cannot offer irrefutable proof, Se non e vero, e ben trovato. If it isn’t true, it makes a good story.

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Lbs. shrimp (16- 20 count), shelled and deveined
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
4 Tbs. Unsalted butter
2 Cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
½ Cup dry white wine
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 Tbs. Flat-leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 Tbs. Grated lemon zest
4 Tbs. Flat-leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped

Preparation:

Season the shrimp on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the butter. When the bubbles have begun to subside, add the shrimp. Cook, without moving them, for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute longer. Turn the shrimp over and cook for 2 minutes more, or until they begin to turn pink. Transfer the shrimp to a bowl.

Return the skillet to the heat and pour in the wine and lemon juice. Boil the liquid to evaporate the alcohol and to reduce the sauce, about 2 – 3 minutes. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Stir the lemon zest and the first 4 Tbs. of parsley into the sauce. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper as necessary. Pour the sauce over the shrimp, and toss to combine.

To Serve:

Divide the shrimp among 4 plates or arrange on a platter and serve, garnished with the remaining parsley.

Neighborhood Italian restaurants would very likely serve this over a pound of linguine. I prefer to serve it as-is, with a salad and plenty of crusty bread as a vehicle for the sauce.

Serves four