Scampi Confusion

[LenaS]

I am looking over previous posts re: Scampi recipes. I have the CL Complete book with Greek Style Scampi, Shrimp Scampi, and saw the post for Scampi with Feta & Orzo - someone mention the greek style scampi better with white wine - the recipe does not call for that - are there 2 different recipes for Greek Scampi out there or would it be ok to add the wine to the CL Complete recipe - seems like a rather large amount of tomatoes - is this really saucy - the picture doesn't look like it is? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[sushibones]

LenaS

I think the confusion comes from the fact that there are several recipes that are very similar: there are the 2 Scampi recipes in the Complete Cooking Light, one with wine and one without; the April 2000 issue has one recipe for Basil Shrimp with Feta and Orzo and another one in the reader's recipes called Shrimp with Orzo (that one has 1 28-oz can of tomatoes, undrained); there is another recipe in the June 2000 issue (also from the reader recipes) called Baked Shrimp with Feta Cheese.

After seeing all the comments on the scampi vs the other shrimp recipes, I started to track them down. The Greek Scampi is similar to the three recipes in the April & June issues: some have wine, some don't; some are cooked with pasta, some are to be served over pasta; some call for fresh tomatoes, some for canned; all are baked for some period of time with feta as a topping. The Shrimp Scampi is just a traditional scampi: shrimp baked with wine, butter and seasonings. From that standpoint, the recipes with the feta cheese have a more interesting mix of flavors and textures, especially with the addition of pasta or rice. Most of the reviewers seemed to prefer the recipes with the feta cheese to the recipe for Shrimp Scampi.

I wanted to make a recipe with the feta cheese so when I made this last week, I combined parts of each of the recipes in the April & June issues ( I didn't even know about the Greek Scampi). I used chicken broth and lemon juice as a substitute for the wine, used about 1/2 lb of fresh roma tomatoes instead of canned, and added the capers from one of the recipes, and combined the whole thing with orzo. It was divine.

The recipe for the Greek Scampi calls for 2 28-oz cans of DRAINED tomatoes, while the Shrimp with Orzo uses 1 28-oz can, undrained. I would think it would depend on how much tomato flavor you wanted; the Greek Scampi would have more tomatoes, but less juice. Canned tomatoes tend to cook down to kind of a mush anyway. I liked the taste of the fresh tomatoes, but would use canned if that was all I had. You could put 1 can of drained tomatoes in, and then decide if it needed more tomatoes or more liquid or neither.

You can always use wine in place of other liquids. I don't drink wine, so I substitute something else for the wine. All of these recipes are so similar, it seems you could change it to suit your own tastes. I think adding either kalamata olives or roasted red peppers would also be very tasty.

Hope this helps and has not been too confusing. I spent the better part of an afternoon comparing the different recipes before finally coming up with my own version. I was very pleased with the result. It was even good leftover cold. A definite keeper.

[LenaS]

Sushi - thank you very much for all that research - I really do appreciate it - I have the shrimp and want to use them for sure today, so I will do what you suggested, just need the roma tomatoes - thank you so much once again http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Lena

[sushibones]

Glad I could help. Let me know how it turns out.

susan