Dinner for Two: Grilled Garlic Bread with White Bean Shrimp Scampi Recipe

By
Kerry Saretsky
a photograph of Kerry Seretsky, a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Kerry Saretsky

Kerry Saretsky interned at Serious Eats in 2008, and wrote the French in a Flash recipe column. She also writes her own blog on modernized French cuisine called French Revolution Food.

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Updated April 29, 2019
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Kerry Saretsky

Shrimp Scampi. Old School! It will always be a stalwart standby mountained on top of linguine, but I like this more elegant, updated version. Grill some thick country bread drizzled with olive oil until it's charred (use an oven if you don't have a grill), and rub the hot bread with garlic. Then top it with a 5-minute stew of big, juicy shrimp, creamy, hearty white cannellini beans, white wine, tons more garlic, parsley, cold sweet butter, and even some arugula if you're feeling adventurous. Perfect for two.

Recipe Details

Dinner for Two: Grilled Garlic Bread with White Bean Shrimp Scampi Recipe

Active 10 mins
Total 10 mins
Serves 2 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 extra thick slices of excellent crusty, rustic round bread
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil plus extra for drizzling
  • 10 cloves garlic, sliced or chopped, plus 1 whole clove
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 pound thawed frozen peeled and deveined large shrimp
  • A pinch of chili flakes
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Pinot Grigio
  • 1 (15-ounce) can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
  • 1/2 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
  • A handful of torn baby arugula (optional)

Directions

  1. Heat a grill pan over high heat or the oven to 450°F. Drizzle the bread lightly with olive oil on both sides, and grill or toast on both sides. Cut the whole garlic clove in half. When the bread is toasted, rub the hot bread all over with the cut side of the garlic, and season lightly with salt.

  2. In a large braising pan, head 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp, and season with the chili flakes, salt and pepper. Cook just until the shrimp are pink and curled, turning once. Set the shrimp aside with a slotted spoon. Add the garlic to the hot oil, and just heat through until you can smell it—less than 30 seconds. Add the wine and beans and bring to a boil. Gently whisk in the cold butter and parsley. Add the shrimp back in to the sauce, and spoon over the waiting garlic bread. If you want to be extra gourmet, add in a heaping handful of torn baby arugula. Bon app!

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