Baked Shrimp Scampi

I am still immensely enjoying the Barefoot Contessa cookbooks I received for Christmas.  This is another recipe from Ina’s newest book, Back to Basics.  It is a phenomenal dish for many reasons: 1 – It tastes incredible!  2 – It requires very few ingredients, and they are things I almost always have on hand.  3 – It takes very little time to prepare so you can have an awesome dinner fast even after a long, hard day of work.  I’ve made it a few times now and each time I have been amazed at what a fantastic meal it is for so little effort.  With a simple salad and some crusty bread, you are good to go!  I have noticed that the broiling step at the end of baking really helps with the appearance of the dish and texture of the topping, so I would advise not skipping that step.  Enjoy!

Baked Shrimp Scampi
Ingredients:
1 lb. large shrimp in the shell (I use about 20/lb. size)
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. dry white wine
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 tsp. minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
2 tbsp. minced shallots
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp. minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/3 cup panko
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  

Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on.  Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper until combined.

Starting from the center of an oval or round baking dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer in the dish.  Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp.  Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp.  Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until hot and bubbly.  Place under the broiler for 1 additional minute to brown the top.  Serve with lemon wedges. 

Source: adapted from Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics by Ina Garten