My mom's signature dish features large shrimp stuffed with a delicious bread crumb mixture that includes Parmesan, Romano and white wine. Dip each forkful in lemon butter for one of the best meals of your life!
3Tablespoonsfresh lemon juice(Plus more for serving; Buy 3 lemons.)
1Tablespoonolive oil
1Tablespoonfresh, chopped parsley
¾teaspoongarlic powder
½teaspoonpaprika(plus more to sprinkle on top)
3Tablespoonssalted butter
Lemon Butter
6Tablespoonssalted butter
1 Tablespoonlemon juice
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with foil and grease it with cooking spray.
Keeping the shells and tails attached, rinse the shrimp and remove any veins or specks of sand. Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels. Place the seafood on the foil-lined pan, with the shells down and the meat up. Wash your hands.
Grate the Parmesan and Romano, if needed. (I use my blender.) Rise the parsley and pat it dry. Chop up the parsley leaves until you have a tablespoon of them.
Add the bread crumbs to a medium mixing bowl. Add the Parmesan, Romano, white wine, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, garlic powder and paprika. Toss with a fork to combine, making sure the bread crumbs are evenly dampened.
Use a large spoon or scoop to place about ⅓ cup of the bread crumb mixture on top of the entire surface of each shrimp scampi. Dampen your hands with water and mound the crumbs on top of the shrimp (scoop up the bread crumbs from the pan as needed) and pat the topping down so it stays in place. It's okay to have some bread crumbs that stay on the pan during baking. (See notes.)
Slice three tablespoons of butter into squares and top each stuffed shrimp with at least one pat of butter. (Use all the butter.) Sprinkle on some more paprika and bake, uncovered, for 21 minutes or until the crumb topping is golden brown and the shrimp is white, firm and cooked through.
Squeeze extra lemon juice over the shrimp and serve with lemon butter for dipping. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to four days.
For the lemon butter
Cut 6 tablespoons of butter into squares. Place the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and cover it with wax paper. Heat on high for 40 seconds, then stir. If the butter isn't melted yet, you can heat it for another 10 seconds or so as needed.
Squeeze in a tablespoon of lemon juice and whisk to combine.
Notes
Shrimp: Super colossal shrimp look nearly as large as small lobsters and are often called scampi. Buy them from a seafood store or ask the seafood department at your grocery store to order them for you. I bought the CenSea brand, marked as deveined and easy to peel.If you can't find 2-4 or 4-6 shrimp per pound, buy shrimp up to 13-15 count per pound and bake it on two sheet pans. (The lower the number, the larger the shrimp). You may need to reduce the baking time by a few minutes.Bread Crumb Topping - Do your best to mound the mixture on each shrimp scampi. If some falls onto the pan, try to scoop it on top of the shellfish. But, any crumbs baked on the pan will taste delicious mixed in a vegetable side dish like steamed green beans, along with melted butter. White Wine: I like Sauvignon Blanc here, but you can use another white wine. I haven't tried this with red wine, but you could probably do that in a pinch. If you need to omit the alcohol, add another tablespoon of lemon juice to the bread crumb mixture.Bread Crumbs: Use plain ones, whether you buy them or use homemade bread crumbs. If you only have Italian seasoned bread crumbs, you should be able to make those work, but you still need to add all of the ingredients that go in the topping. You may need to reduce the garlic powder in the recipe, however.Cod Substitution: For a more economical option, make this Baked Cod with Bread Crumbs, which has the same topping.