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Skillet Shrimp Scampi with orzo, tomatoes, and spinach

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All-in-one meal, in one pan! This recipe is slightly adapted from Melissa Clark's (in her cookbook, Dinner in One). It has some heat, which is great for me, but you can halve (or eliminate) the red pepper flakes for less (or none). In the future, I'll add more spinach and garlic.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 4 garlic cloves, finely minced (or grated)

  • 1/2 cup dry white wine

  • 1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use 1/8 teaspoon if you don't want too much heat)

  • 1 pound extra-large shrimp, peeled and de-veined

  • 1 cup orzo

  • 1 (or 2) 5-oz container(s) of fresh baby spinach

  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes

  • juice from half a lemon  

Preparation

  1. In a large saute pan or skillet. melt the butter with the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. (Do not let it brown!). Add the wine, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, the black pepper, and the red pepper flakes, and bring to a simmer. Let the wine reduce by half, about 2 minutes.

  2. Add the shrimp and saute until they just turn pink, 2-4 minutes (depends on their size). Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp to a plate and tent with foil to keep them warm.

  3. Add 2 cups of water to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Stir in the orzo and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cover the pan and let the orzo simmer over medium-low heat until it is just tender and most of the liquid is absorbed, 12 to 15 minutes. If you are adding in spinach, it goes in about 3 minutes before this cooking time is finished, and gets stirred in until wilted. If the pan dries out toward the end, add more water.

  4. Return the shrimp to the pan, along with the tomatoes and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, and cook an additional 2 minutes (I covered the pan for this so the tomatoes could warm through and just start to break apart a little). Stir in the parsley if using and then squeeze the juice from half the lemon, gently tossing to combine. Cut the remaining half lemon into wedges for serving.

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