A simple meal is my kind of meal.

Every now and then, I’ll whip up some egg whites or set something on fire but, for the most part, I’m a simple guy. On any given weeknight, I’ll either stir-fry some vegetables or doctor up a frozen meal.

If it’s a good day, I’ll pull up to my drive-thru of choice and chow down on whatever I can inhale in my car while chasing a story.

Us journalists, we don’t really have a lot of time, okay?

And I know you don’t have a lot of time, either — you’re busy reading this column, of course. So that’s why I’ve prepared for you a simple recipe that takes only minutes to make, but is packed with flavor and sure to impress your friends and family.

Shrimp scampi has become a staple at Italian-American restaurants across the country, and this recipe is pretty true to form, but with the volume turned up. Shrimp with butter, wine, garlic and lemon, perked up with a little red pepper and tossed with hot pasta, is forever a classic.

I mean, come on.

And it couldn’t be simpler to make: if you can boil water, you can make this dish.

The sauce is butter-based, as is traditional for a scampi preparation. Not traditional in my version, though, is the use of browned butter. Here, I allow the milk solids in the butter to caramelize, lending a rich nuttiness that deepens the flavor.

I’ve also added nutmeg — which, by the way, is my trick for bumping up the flavor of most savory dishes — to play on the flavor of the browned butter and underscore the heat of the chile flakes. It makes the sauce all the more complex and all the more delicious.

Perhaps the hardest part of this recipe is preparing the shrimp. If you get them fresh, have your fishmonger peel and devein them for you — you can opt to leave the tails on for presentation, although I shy against it. If time allows, peel and devein them yourself by running a paring knife down the back of the each crustacean, then peeling the shell off each side.

If you’re in a pinch, defrosted frozen, cleaned shrimp will do just fine. And please, I beg of you, don’t overcook them. Once they’re pink, they’re done.

— Staff Writer Alan Bennett can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or abennett@journaltribune.com.

Spiced shrimp scampi with lemon
Start-to-finish: 20 minutes (20 minutes active)
Serves: 4

1 pound spaghetti, linguine or other long, thin pasta
½ pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on optional)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup dry white wine
¼ cup finely-chopped basil
2 tablespoons lemon zest
¼ cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper, more to taste
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Bring a large pot of generously-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta, stirring occasionally, until just shy of al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving a ½ cup of the pasta cooking water and set aside.

In a large, deep skillet set over medium heat, melt the butter and cook until just beginning to turn brown. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the red pepper flakes, lemon zest and nutmeg and cook for 1 minute.

Add the shrimp to the pan and cook, tossing, until just pink, about 3 minutes. Add the wine, lemon juice, salt and pepper and cook until the sauce begins to reduce. Add the pasta, basil and reserved pasta cooking water and toss until the sauce comes together. 

Adjust seasoning to taste and serve immediately, topped with additional red pepper flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.