Shrimp Scampi

Mmmm, garlic and wine make everything taste good. Cooking the spaghetti squash in the sauce for 4-5 minutes will improve the texture, plus it absorbs all the beautiful flavors. Roasted or steamed broccoli makes a great side dish, and you can bake it alongside the squash. Serves 2.

1 1.5# spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds removed
Water or chicken stock

1/2 lb 30-40 ct shrimp (about 16), shells off, tails on, deveined, rinsed & drying on paper towels

Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

4 TB EVOO

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 healthy pinches crushed red pepper

1 lemon, zested & juiced

1/4-ish c dry white wine, not aged in oak

Big handful fresh parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 400*F

Place cleaned squash cut side down in a baking dish or roasting pan, on a half sheet pan and pour in 1/4" water or chicken stock.

Bake 45 minutes. Check the liquid level at about 30 minutes and add more if needed. Turn the squash over and bake another 15 minutes or until very tender. Remove from baking pan and let cool enough to handle. Use a fork to scrape out the pulp in long spaghetti-like strands into a dish and set aside. The picture below is from a different squash. One 9" in length yields a lot of squash, more than you will need for this dish. Freeze the extra for later.

Warm the EVOO over medium-low heat in a large saute pan. Add the garlic & saute for a couple of minutes. Add the shrimps & season with salt & pepper. Cook just till both sides of the shrimps turn pink (you turned them over) but aren't cooked all the way through, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimps and set aside. Add the lemon zest & juice, wine, red pepper flakes & parsley, then put the cooked squash in the pan. Cook and toss with tongs for about 4-5 minutes so the squash absorbs all the flavors. Add the shrimps back in & cook for another minute until they're completely opaque.