Yikes, I have a teenager on hand!! Luckily, this one does not throw tantrums or answer back...hee hee 😜
What's scampi?
I always thought scampi was a kind of seafood. I wasn't too wrong for that's a species of lobster, also known as langoustine. It's also the name of a dish made with this lobster.
The recipe I had for the scampi also had chicken. My fish shop had no langoustine nor lobster and I had no intention of keeping this recipe on hold till the right ingredients happened. That's when I found that prawns were a great substitute for this dish.
There are just a few ingredients to make this dish and luckily, everything was readily available.
My recipe for chicken and prawn scampi yielded a delicious sauce, slightly tangy, garlicky and aromatic with herbs. The first time, I served it was with home made rolls and the second time, with pasta. Maybe it would have been great with spaghetti but fusilli was all I had on hand. It's a great accompaniment with bread (the sourdough variety), buns or pasta. Something that can mop up all that delicious sauce.
So here goes -
Chicken and prawn in scampi sauce
Ingredients
250 gm boneless chicken cut in small cubes
250 gm shelled and deveined prawns
1 onion, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, peeled and chopped fine
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp paprika
a sprig of thyme
1 tbsp chopped parsley (or 1tsp dried)
2 tbsp tomato paste
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup stock (or water)
1/4 cup cream
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp butter
3- 4 fresh basil leaves
Grated parmesan cheese
Method
Season chicken and prawns with a little salt.
Heat oil and butter in a skillet, sauté chicken and prawns till prawns turn pink, remove and keep aside.
Sauté chopped onion till they are golden around the edges.
Toss in garlic, and thyme, stir and just before it turns colour, add in tomato, seasoning, cayenne, paprika and parsley.
Allow the tomato to turn mushy, add stock (or water) and tomato paste.
Return sautéed chicken and prawns into the sauce, add in the cream.
Check seasoning and just when the sauce begins to simmer, remove from heat.
Method
Season chicken and prawns with a little salt.
Heat oil and butter in a skillet, sauté chicken and prawns till prawns turn pink, remove and keep aside.
Sauté chopped onion till they are golden around the edges.
Toss in garlic, and thyme, stir and just before it turns colour, add in tomato, seasoning, cayenne, paprika and parsley.
Allow the tomato to turn mushy, add stock (or water) and tomato paste.
Return sautéed chicken and prawns into the sauce, add in the cream.
Check seasoning and just when the sauce begins to simmer, remove from heat.
Serve with any kind of pasta, bread or rolls, sprinkle parmesan cheese over to finish.
