Make this dinner with less than 10 minutes of stove time

Before you cook the shrimp, steam some rice to soak up every last drop of the sauce.
Before you cook the shrimp, steam some rice to soak up every last drop of the sauce.

Even people who love to cook may find themselves shying away from the stove in mid-August. When temperatures soar, and humidity isn’t far behind, who wants to put up with the heat of the kitchen?

But you’ve still got to put dinner on the table most evenings. And I don’t consider ready-to-serve, store-bought or fast foods an acceptable option.

There are, however, so many options you can cook from scratch in almost no time. The secret is to make a rapid saute, searing small pieces of seafood, poultry or meat over high heat and then turning the glaze of pan juices into a delicious sauce.

One of my favorite such sautes is the Italian restaurant classic known as Shrimp Scampi, which became popular in the U.S. after World War II when GIs back from Italy headed to neighborhood trattorias and asked for the shrimp cooked in the style of scampi (the Italian word for shrimp) they’d enjoyed in Europe.

Beyond starting with fresh shrimp, just a few basic ingredients add up to a proper version of the dish: a little flour to coat the shrimp and thicken the sauce; olive oil and butter for sauteing them and enriching the sauce; garlic (to which I also like to add some shallots); and white wine and lemon juice to deglaze the pan and contribute a sharp, bright flavor. I also like to add some red-pepper flakes to spark up the sauce, plus a garnish of parsley for its own fresh color and taste.

Once you’ve completed the small amount of prep work, the entire dish will take you no more than 10 minutes to cook on the stovetop. Before I even start cooking, though, I’ll get some rice steaming so I can soak up every last drop of the sauce. You could also choose to serve the shrimp on top of pasta or mashed potatoes, or simply offer good bread on the side.

Once you’ve mastered the basics of my recipe, you can use the techniques involved to prepare all sorts of other dishes. Add your own favorite fresh herbs, such as basil, chives or oregano, on their own or in combination. Try stirring a spoonful of pesto into the sauce. Throw in a handful of frozen baby peas, small diced red bell pepper or another quick-cooking vegetable. Or, if you like, use a different protein: thin, quick-cooking, bite-sized pieces of boneless chicken or turkey, tender beef, pork or lamb; strips of fish fillet such as salmon or sea bass; or fresh bay or sea scallops.

With almost no effort at all, you’ll soon gain a reputation among your family and friends as having the best Italian kitchen in town.

CLASSIC SHRIMP SCAMPI

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 1/4 pounds large shrimp, about 20 per pound, peeled with tail fins left intact, and deveined

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 shallots, finely chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 to 3 pinches crushed red-pepper flakes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 cups cooked white or brown rice

Directions:

Pat the shrimp dry. Arrange them on a platter or tray. Season all over with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle evenly with flour, and toss to coat.

Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and heat until it just starts to smoke. Add the shrimp. Cook until they turn pink on the bottom, about 1 1/2 minutes. Using tongs and working quickly, turn the shrimp over. Cook until uniformly pink, about 1 minute longer. Transfer the shrimp to a plate.

Add 1 tablespoon each of the olive oil and the butter to the skillet; stir over medium-high heat until the butter melts. Add the garlic and shallots; saute for 2 minutes, stirring and scraping to dislodge the pan deposits.

Add the wine, and bring to a boil, stirring and scraping to deglaze, until the sauce begins to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice and remaining tablespoons of butter. Season to taste with salt, pepper and red-pepper flakes.

Add the shrimp and parsley to the sauce. Toss to warm the shrimp through and coat them with the sauce. If the sauce seems too thick, stir in a little water to thin it.

Transfer the rice to 4 serving plates, quickly molding it first in lightly oiled ramekins or custard cups, if you like. Or simply spoon and mound it. Arrange the shrimp around and on top of the rice on each plate. Spoon the sauce over the shrimp. Serve immediately.

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