Erica De Mane

Recipe: Scampi with Almonds, Mint, and Lemon

I went out to dinner a lot as a child, mostly to Italian places in Nassau County, Long Island, and in Manhattan (the City, as we called it). My father was a golf pro, which meant he had erratic hours, especially in warm weather, so dinner at home was hit or miss. He also loved to party, and taking everyone out to dinner was very much a part of his ring-a-ding life. I’m grateful for it. The flavors of the 1960s Italian-American food on all those usually fun restaurant evenings are permanently embedded in my palate memory. Shrimp scampi, as it was always called then, was something I ordered constantly. I became quite the snotty little expert on the scampis served in the greater New York area. Scampi then meant lots of garlic (sometimes burnt black and acrid), lots of olive oil, and lots of lemon. It also more than occasionally meant horrendously overcooked shrimp, which was a big disappointment. This glamorous dish, I discovered, could be amazingly delicious or disgusting, depending on the time and place. But I was always up for the confrontation.

Going home with the garlic burps after a night out with my father, my clothes stained with  olive oil, red wine, and Shirley Temples and reeking of cigarette smoke, was a recurring experience of my childhood. It was also the beginning of my culinary education. What I learned back them was that a good scampi was gentle on the garlic and not hammered to death.

In Italy real scampi look like beautiful mini lobsters, but with a thinner shell (or maybe a better description is that they look like big shrimps with claws). They’re most often served just cracked down the middle and sautéed or grilled with a simple mix of olive oil, herbs, garlic, and breadcrumbs. I don’t often see real scampi here, but Citarella almost always stocks jumbo shrimp. They’re excellent for what I suppose should be called shrimp scampi-style (or gamberi (the Italian word for actual shrimp) scampi-style). I make variations on this dish often. This time I decided I wanted a springtime feel to it. I added ground almonds, which lighten it up, since they don’t soak up oil the way the straight breadcrumbs do. I added fresh mint instead of parsley. I also decided to serve the shrimp on a bed of watercress. It came out pretty springlike, I think.

True Italian scampi.

Scampi with Almonds, Mint, and Lemon

(Serves 4)

12 jumbo shrimp
Extra-virgin olive oil
The juice and grated zest from 1 small lemon, plus lemon wedges for garnish
¼ cup dry white wine
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup homemade dry breadcrumbs, not too finely ground
½ cup whole lightly toasted almonds, half finely ground, the rest roughly chopped
1 heaping tablespoon grated Grana Padano cheese
A handful of fresh mint leaves, half chopped, the rest left whole for garnish
2 bunches watercress

Peel the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Then make a deep slice into the back of each shrimp, removing the vein. You’ll want to go about halfway in, just far enough so the shrimp will open up and lay flat in the baking dish. Put the shrimp in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, mix together the lemon juice, about ¼ cup olive oil, the white wine, and the garlic. Season with salt and black pepper. Pour this over the shrimp, giving them a good toss.

Preheat your broiler.

Place the shrimp in a shallow sided baking dish, cut side up, curling their tales to the side so they can lay flat. Pour any remaining marinade over the shrimp.

In another small bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, ground almonds, Grana Padano, lemon zest and chopped mint. Season well with salt and black pepper. Add about 2 tablespoons olive oil, and mix well.

Place the watercress in a salad bowl.

Broil the shrimp about 4 inches from the heat source for about 4 minutes. Pull the dish from the broiler, and scatter the breadcrumb mixture over the shrimp. Return the dish to the broiler, and cook until the breadcrumbs are a nice golden brown, about another 4 minutes. Pull the dish from the broiler, and garnish the shrimp with the chopped almonds and the mint sprigs.

Dress the watercress with a little olive oil and lemon juice, and serve alongside the shrimp. You can drizzle any juices left in the dish over the shrimp if you like. Serve with lemon wedges.