Shrimp Scampi - Rebel Style

What happens when you cross international lines and mix up some classics - you get a yummy dinner! A few nights ago, still settling into my new home and tired of unpacking, I looked in the freezer and saw gougeres and shrimp and spied garlic on the counter. Mama mia! Shrimp Scampi over Gougeres it was!

French everywhere are shuddering in horror, Italians are wondering why I would sully scampi with a cheese puff. Welcome to Kirsten's Rebel cooking!

It had been eons since I made scampi so I actually had to recheck a recipe and sure enough, it is simplicity itself; garlic, shrimp, white wine, butter, parsley and red pepper flakes. Presto! Fantastic meal in minutes (the gougeres took longer to bake than the actual food prep.)

While shrimp scampi is a bit out of style in more high end Italian restaurants, it happily shines in more "homestyle" places and it is easy to see why. Pan fried garlic, a little wine and butter with flat leaf parsley to temper the richness is a winning combination. I will definitely be reintroducing this in my more regular pasta dishes. It is also a great dinner to make when you have company and want to pull something together quickly and still present a special meal.

Shrimp Scampi over Gougeres
serves 2

1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoon olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup white wine
pinch red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
10-12 frozen pre-made gougeres (depending on their size)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Defrost shrimp, mince garlic and parsley and set aside. Place gougeres on parchment paper on baking sheet (not foil, they will stick horribly) and when you place them in the oven turn temperature down to 375 degrees and bake for 15 minutes. Turn sheet 180 degrees and set timer for another 15 minutes. 10 minutes after turning gougeres, add olive oil to a skillet and heat over medium high heat; cook garlic until it just begins to color. Add shrimp and cook 2 minutes until it begins to turn pink. Add wine to deglaze pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring and scrapping up any bits on bottom. Add butter and allow to melt and foam. Add pepper flakes and parsley and cook another 2 minutes. Season with salt and turn heat down to simmer. Remove gougeres from oven and place on plates. Spoon Shrimp over gougeres and serve.

Hugs!

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Italian Sausage and Cabbage Stew at Simply Recipes
Meyer Lemon Sage Olive Oil Cake at Blue Kitchen
African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas at Eats Well With Others