Shrimp Francese
Mix up pasta night by making this Italian-American shrimp Francese for dinner. Lightly-battered shrimp, a wine sauce, served over pasta with some lemon. Serve this delicious shrimp dish with chopped parsley and wedges of lemon.
Ingredients
- About 1/2 lb large or extra large shrimp peeled and deveined
- All-purpose flour for dredging
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tbsp butter divided
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ⅓ cup pinot grigio or other dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 6 round thin slices of lemon, seeds removed
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 8 oz angel hair
Instructions
- Butterfly the shrimp and pat them dry.
- Cook the angel hair according to the package directions. Drain and keep warm.
- Add some flour to one bowl. Whisk together the egg and seasonings in another bowl. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Dredge the shrimp into the flour, then dip into the egg. Pan fry the shrimp, turning once or twice, working in batches if necessary, until they are golden on the outside, and cooked on the inside, about 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp. Set aside and keep warm.
- Wipe the excess oil out of the skillet. Melt 2 tbsp of butter in the skillet. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the pinot grigio, chicken broth, and lemon juices and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add in the lemon slices.
- Cook until the sauce is slightly reduced, about 5 minutes, then remove the lemon slices (or keep them if you prefer!). Reduce the heat to low, then swirl in 1 tbsp of the remaining butter at a time until the sauce is thickened. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Stir in the parsley.
- Add the shrimp to the sauce, turning the shrimp until they're coated in sauce. Serve the shrimp over pasta with extra sauce ladelled over it and garnish with extra parsley.
Notes
Since this dish is best enjoyed immediately, I would not recommend storing leftovers, as seafood and shellfish tend to not be good when microwaved. The shrimp will become chewy if you microwave it, so be sure to just make enough for dinner!
This sauce thickens slightly as it sits, so keep that in mind if you want a thicker sauce.
Variations:
- Gluten-Free: Use cornstarch instead of flour for dredging.
- Add in some spinach when simmering the sauce so it wilts. Toss in roasted broccoli. Add in some grape tomatoes before cooking the garlic to get some burst tomato action.
- Change the shrimp out for some chicken or veal! Just skip the butterfly step, of course. The recipe directions are still valid!