Shrimp and Garlic Scape Scampi

Shrimp seasoned with garlic scape pesto and parsley then tossed in a wine/butter/lemon sauce and served over pasta.  This is local seasonal eating. The high falutin' way.

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You're either here because you've got garlic scapes and want ideas for how to use them, or because you're looking for a different twist on the classic Shrimp Scampi. Either way, let's start with a little background info so that we're all on the same page.

What is a garlic scape?

Garlic grows in a bulb--like a tulip--and produces a flower. Unlike tulips, though, you don't want this flower--so you cut off the scapes while the flower part is still a tight bud. That's a garlic scape. Old Farmers [my Dad] say cutting off the bud forces enables the garlic plant to put all its energy into making a larger base or head or bulb. We're all about bigger bulbs of garlic, right?

Since garlic--again like tulips--ripens but once a year there's only one shot to get garlic scapes each year. If you don't grow your own garlic [and here's a DIY post on planting/harvesting/putting up a year's supply of garlic and pesto from one raised bed] you can find scapes at a farmer's market of from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. It is rare to find them in a grocery store which is all the more reason to eat locally--they are a versatile veggie!

The requisite Food (Blogger) Origination Story

The first time I made Shrimp Scampi was in high school.  In an effort to save money I decided to make my boyfriend our pre-prom dinner at home. [We went to different high schools and attended two proms--though I have no memory of actually going to his prom . . . perhaps we just ate shrimp scampi at my house instead?].

I got the recipe on a piece of lab paper from Miss Tigani, my high school biology teacher. That scrap of paper hasn't been seen in decades, but the basics of scampi--garlic, butter, parsley, lemon, white wine--stayed with me.  I thought the milder taste of garlic scapes would go nicely for my family.

See, while I would love me some garlic shrimp from the white shrimp truck on the North Shore of Oahu, I know that the resulting 3 days of garlic oozing from my pores would not be appreciated by my spouse.  So I'll stay on the mainland and create this instead.

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For more recipes using garlic scapes, please see my Garlic and Garlic Scapes Recipe Collection. For more recipes using herbs, please see my Recipes Using Herbs Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.


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Recipe Notes

• Start the pasta water first if you don't have cooked noodles standing by.
• I used a batch of garlic scape pesto that had sunflower seeds for the 'nut' and parsley for the leaf.  It worked very well in this dish. I've since remade this garlic scape shrimp scampi using my beloved Garlic Scape Pistachio Pesto. I like both versions.
• This recipe would be yummy with the addition of feta cheese, capers, some crusty bread, and a salad.

Shrimp and Garlic Scape Scampi
By Kirsten Madaus

Shrimp seasoned with garlic scape pesto and parsley then tossed in a wine/butter/lemon sauce and served over pasta.

Prep time: 00:10
Cook time: 00:15
Total time: 00:25

Yield: serves 4-6
Ingredients:
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons garlic scape pesto (recipe suggestion here)
½ cup (4 ounces by volume) white wine
1 lemon, zested and juiced (about ¼ cup or 2 ounces of juice and 1 Tablespoon of fresh zest)
1½  to 2 pounds raw shrimp (shells and tails removed)
½ cup to 1 cup parsley, chopped
hot cooked spaghetti noodles, enough for 4 to 6 servings

Instructions:

Start the pasta water first if you don't have cooked noodles standing by.

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter.

Stir in garlic scape pesto, wine, lemon zest and juice until mixed. Bring to a simmer.

Add shrimp and stir to coat with sauce.

Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring once or twice, until shrimp is opaque and cooked through.

Add parsley and hot cooked noodles to the skillet. Toss everything together to coat the noodles.

Taste--to see if you want salt and pepper. We added pepper to our own plates, but didn't need salt.

Serve right out of the skillet.

Originally posted in 2014. Updated in 2019 because I forgot to include the amount of shrimp in the ingredients!