Cooking to Beat the Clock:
Delicious, Inspired Meals in 15 Minutes

This week's cooking lesson on my
Cooking to Beat the Clock segment
on A Chef's Table is about  
SOLVING QUICK MEAL DILEMMAS WITH CREATIVITY
and the recipe is
Shrimp Scampi.

The first three foundations of Cooking to Beat the Clock are: Flavor (a pantry well-stocked with ingredients that have lots of taste); Organization (the right equipment within easy access); and Focus (working without distraction). The fourth is Creativity, thinking beyond recipes.

I hope listeners will use my recipes not as holy scripture but as a blueprint to create many more 15-minute meals on your own by thinking concepts rather than specific formulas. Take a beef and asparagus stir-fry, for example. It’s a meat and vegetable stir-fry when you break it down.  Instead of beef you could use pork, lamb, poultry, shrimp, scallops, or cubes of tuna or swordfish. Vegetables might include string beans, broccoli, or several varieties of summer squash in lieu of asparagus. Obviously cooking times will vary, but you get the picture. 

Add an ingredient here and there if it happens to be in the fridge or you just feel like putting okra in the jambalaya. Maybe you want some red in that beef and asparagus stir-fry. So you add some sliced red bell pepper. Of course, spices can change or vary in intensity to suit your taste.

Sometimes you might follow an ethnic bent. If you have fresh tomatoes and want to make a pasta sauce, basil, garlic, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese are natural accompaniments. But you could just as easily go Greek with feta cheese, kalamata olives, and oregano. A marinade for chicken breasts might be Asian, using soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and fresh ginger, or Middle Eastern with cumin, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.

The shrimp scampi recipe below is essentially sauteed shrimp with garlic, olive oil, butter, parsley, lemon juice, and white wine. However, that’s just a starting point. In his book “Fish,” author Mark Bittman says that scampi has “more variations than you can count.” Some of Bittman’s suggested additions include anchovies, cayenne (or other hot peppers), cilantro, cumin, lemon or orange juice, and dry sherry. But not all at once, please!

Want some color in your scampi? Add some green peas or tomatoes. How about a Cajun-style scampi with Tabasco, and Worcestershire. Or a Creole version with bell peppers, celery, and tomato sauce? Why not think of shrimp like veal and try shrimp piccata with lemon juice and capers? Another veal-style scampi could include shrimp with sauteed mushrooms, shallots, thyme, and maybe a bit of cream.

Normally I use shelled shrimp for 15-minute meals. But the scampi cooks so fast, you could shell your own shrimp and still make the dish in time. Don’t like shrimp? Try scallops or crayfish, even chunks of monkfish. Shrimp scampi is traditionally served over rice but couscous, polenta, and pasta are also possibilities. A good quality Verdicchio or Pinot Grigio would be an appropriate wine choice.

Shrimp Scampi

•  1 cup basmati rice

• 1 teaspoon salt plus more to taste

• 1 pound large shrimp, in or out of the shell

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 large cloves garlic

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 1/2 lemon

• 1/4 cup dry white wine

• 4 sprigs parsley, preferably flat leaf variety

• 1 tablespoon butter

1)While the hot-water tap runs, put the rice in a 2-quart saucepan. Add 2 cups hot tap water and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and keep covered until ready to serve. (Or put the rice, 2 cups hot water, and 1 teaspoon salt in a 2-quart microwave-safe container. Cover and put in a microwave oven on high power for 10 minutes. Keep covered until ready to serve.)

2)Meanwhile, if using shrimp in the shell, peel the shrimp but leave the tails on. Put  the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Peel and chop the garlic. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

3)Add the shrimp to the skillet, increase the heat to medium, and cook for 2 minutes on one side. While the shrimp cook, season them with salt and pepper to taste. Juice the lemon half. Turn the shrimp over and cook for 1 minute. Then add the lemon juice and wine to the skillet. Raise the heat to high and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to mix well. Chop the leaves of the parsley and cut the butter into 4 pieces.

4)Add the parsley and the butter to the skillet. Stir just until the butter is melted and incorporated, giving the sauce a creamy texture. Remove from the heat and serve with the rice.

Serves 4

Per serving: 402 calories, 28 grams protein, 38 grams carbohydrate,  15 grams fat,  4.9 grams saturated fat, 188 mg cholesterol, 831 mg sodium.