Shrimp Scampi with Polenta

We feel very fortunate to live where fresh, local seafood is readily available. There is nothing, I mean nothing, like a Royal Red shrimp caught in the morning and sizzling in your cast iron skillet or over your grill that afternoon. When you bite it, the shrimp gives a little and then snaps under your teeth, and its flavor is sweet and slightly saline. You can’t get those sensations or flavors from anywhere else.

But we have come to appreciate the convenience of shrimp from the grocery store’s freezer. Scampi is one of our favorite preparations.

The idea for infusing the shrimp with garlic three ways (raw in a marinade, in garlic-infused oil, and sautéed with the shrimp) comes to me via Cook’s Illustrated. The polenta is adapted from Giada de Laurentiis’s Everyday Italian. I use more water and a little less salt than she does. My husband and I easily eat this entire recipe ourselves.

Of course you can serve shrimp scampi with crusty bread for soaking up the delicious garlic oil, but we really like it with polenta.

You may have to make this a couple of times to get the timing just right, because you want the shrimp and polenta to be finished at exactly the same moment. Fortunately, the polenta can be left alone during its last five minutes of cooking; the shrimp, however, cannot.

Shrimp Scampi with Polenta

for the shrimp:

14 cloves of garlic

1 pound 31-40 shrimp, deveined, tails removed

5 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Smash six garlic cloves with the flat of a chef’s knife to remove the paper. Mince two cloves of garlic and toss with the shrimp, one tablespoon of the olive oil and the salt in a medium bowl. Allow the shrimp to marinate for about half an hour at room temperature.

While the shrimp is marinating, heat remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil over medium-low heat in a cast-iron or other heavy 12-inch skillet. Add the four smashed cloves garlic and cook about 5 minutes. Remove the garlic and discard. Set the garlic-infused oil aside.

Peel the remaining garlic cloves and slice very thinly. Return the skillet to medium-low heat and add the shrimp with its marinade in a single layer. Sprinkle the sliced garlic into the oil around the shrimp. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until a little pink shows around the sides of the shrimp. Turn each shrimp over and cook about 2 minutes more. Increase heat to medium-high and add the lemon juice and the parsley to the skillet. Cook, tossing everything together, until the shrimp are cooked through and the oil is sizzling, about half a minute.

for the polenta:
3 cups of water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring the water and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour in the cornmeal slowly, whisking the whole time with a long-handled whisk. Reduce the heat to look and cook, whisking often, until the cornmeal is cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter until melted.

To serve: spoon the polenta into a shallow serving dish and pour the sizzling garlic, shrimp and oil over the top.