Garlicky Lobster Crab Scampi #NationalGarlicDay

Lots of garlic, butter and olive oil make this rich Garlicky Lobster Crab Scampi perfect for serving on a special occasion. Or when you just want to treat yourself. No lobster? Substitute shrimp or prawns!

The summer I was eight years old, we moved from Trinidad to Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, a distance not far as the crow flies, the commercial flight taking only one hour and 20 minutes, but it was a dizzying transfer from a cozy oil field camp on a relatively provincial island to a quick paced city of high rise buildings and busy downtown streets where folks spoke a foreign tongue. And you had to know that language to read the signs, packaging in stores and to order safely from a menu. 

While our house was being readied for move-in, we stayed first in a high-rise hotel and then in a serviced apartment just a few blocks from an Italian restaurant called Da Pippo’s. We ate there several times a week. Funny how memories can be elusive, but I don’t really remember what I used to order. Perhaps it was something normal like pizza or spaghetti, so unremarkable that it escaped recording in my long-term brain cells, but my older sister was consistent.

She got the shrimp scampi every single time. It was loaded with garlic and butter and oil, shelled pink shrimp drowning in that nectar of delight. I don’t recall if she ever shared a shrimp, but sometimes she’d let me dip a piece of the complimentary bread in there. Heaven. 

Now you are probably asking yourself why I didn’t just order my own shrimp scampi and I wish I had a good answer for you. I do wonder that myself. But the good memories made sure that I have recreated that dish more than a few times over the intervening years. 

A little research corrected my misheld assumption that scampi was merely the Italian word for shrimp. It can also mean a dish prepared with garlic butter so occasionally, I vary the seafood, using lobster or crab alone or in combination with the shrimp. But there’s always plenty of garlic and butter and olive oil.

You might remember that last year about this time, I was celebrating National Garlic Day with my friend, Heather from girlichef, and 13 more garlic loving food bloggers. I made a slow roasted lamb shoulder with 40 cloves of garlic that just fell off the bones, it was so tender! Well, we are at it again! 

And I couldn’t think of a better recipe to share than one I created with Da Pippo's shrimp scampi in mind. Feel free to substitute shrimp for the lobster and/or the crab. And make sure you scroll down to see all the great garlicky recipes my friends have made for you today.

Ingredients for two very generous servings
1/4 cup or 60g butter
1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil
15 cloves or 60g garlic
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup or 120ml dry white wine
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cayenne (depending on your taste)
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
Juice of 1/2 lemon
12 1/3 oz or 350g lobster tail meat
1/2 cup or 110g fresh crabmeat
Sea salt to taste.

To serve: spinach fettuccine pasta, cooked to manufacturer’s instructions or some crusty bread, sliced, heaping your scampi on.

To garnish: Few sprigs cilantro or flat leaf parsley

Method
Melt the butter along with the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Mince your garlic and add it to the pan or push it through a garlic press directly into the melted butter and olive oil. Cook for a minute or two until fragrant. Be very careful not to let the garlic burn or it will turn bitter.

Whisk in the Worcestershire sauce, cayenne, whole grain mustard and white wine. Simmer for about five minutes.

Slice your lobster tail.

And add it to the sauce. Cook it just long enough for the meat to turn white, mere minutes.

Add in the crabmeat and cook until it is just warmed through.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and give everything a gentle stir.

Add salt to taste then serve over spinach pasta for extra color. Or alongside some fresh crusty bread.

Garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro or flat leaf parsley.

Enjoy!

Welcome to National Garlic Day 2015, hosted by Heather from girlichef. April 19th is a day for garlic lovers far and wide to come together and celebrate the wonder of "the stinking rose." Whether it's the ability to ward off vampires (and bugs), its numerous health benefits, or the way it lends flavor to a dish, there are so many reasons for singing the praises of garlic.

To help you get in the mood, check out these garlicky good recipes from this year's National Garlic Day bloggers:

• Black Garlic Chocolate Cake from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Chicken with 40 cloves of Garlic from My Catholic Kitchen
• Epic Garlic Bread from Shockingly Delicious
• Garlic and White Bean Hummus from Kelli's Kitchen
• Garlic Lovers Focaccia with Shallots and Sweet Corn from Kudos Kitchen by Reneé
• Garlic-Parmesan Chicken Stuffed Shells for Two from The Spiffy Cookie
• Garlicky Chard Stuffed Flank Steak from girlichef
• Garlicky Lobster Crab Scampi from Food Lust People Love
• Garlicky Rib Eye Steak with Garlic Bruschetta from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• IPA Pickles from NY Foodgasm
• Lebanese Garlic Sauce from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Louisiana Garlic Bread from Wishes and Dishes
• Ricotta, Garlic and Mushroom Flatbread Pizza from Simply Healthy Family
• Roasted Garlic and Parmesan Hummus from From Gate to Plate
• Roasted Garlic Cauliflower from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Roasted Garlic Gruyère Pull-Apart Bread from Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
• Spicy Garlic Noodles with Pork from Healthy. Delicious.

Slow-Roasted Lamb with 40 Cloves of Garlic #NationalGarlicDay

Lamb shoulder is the perfect cut for a good long roasting in the oven and it goes especially well with garlic in abundance. The tender meat falls off the bones and the resulting gravy is rich and aromatic. If you’ve never tried lamb shoulder, it’s time, friends, it’s time. This recipe is best started early in the morning, or even the day before you want to serve it.

Growing up, my grandmother had what we call a fouillon about lamb that she passed on to my mother. I have no idea how that’s really spelled but it means a quirk against or an aversion in Cajun French. My mom extended this aversion to anything goat, as well, even my beloved goat milk cheese. She said she could taste the animal and it didn’t taste good. 

Needless to say, we never had lamb at home when I was a child so I didn’t really have an opportunity to try it until I married into a family of Brits who eat lamb all the time. It was too late to change my grandmother's mind, but I am pleased to say that I have converted my mother now and she enjoys rack of lamb and goat cheese. (Still working on the other cuts!) The moral of this story is that your mother is almost always right, unless she’s wrong.

Today we are celebrating National Garlic Day with a great garlicky giveaway and lots of center stage garlic recipes! Aside from its medicinal properties, garlic just tastes good. It adds warmth and spiciness and there are very few recipes that cannot be improved upon by adding garlic. Even ice cream! No kidding. Check out girlichef’s creamy treat made with black garlic in the links below. And make sure to enter the draw for the giveaway. One winner takes all!

Ingredients
Time! (This roasts for 6 and a half hours, not counting preparation and marinating time.)
1 shoulder of lamb on the bone, around 6 lbs or 2.7kg
1 cup or 240ml dry red wine

For seasoning the roast:

Leaves from 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary (Plus extra sprigs for garnish, if desired)
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
10-12 black or mixed peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons flakey sea salt (like Maldon)
12 cloves garlic (about 1 3/4 oz or 50g)
1/8 cup or 30ml pomegranate molasses
1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil
Plus six extra cloves of garlic sliced lengthwise in quarters or sixths.

AND 22 more cloves – more or less – for adding to the pan in the last hour of roasting for a overall total of 40 cloves or about 6 oz or 165g of garlic.

Method
Use a mortar and pestle to crush the first eight ingredients in the spice mix list until you create a fine paste. Add in the pomegranate molasses and olive oil and stir until well combined.

Put the extra six sliced cloves into the mix.

Score the fatty top of your lamb shoulder with a sharp knife. Using a small paring knife, make holes all over the shoulder, turning the knife as you plunge it in to widen the holes enough for you to fit a forefinger in them.

Poke a piece of garlic into each hole, along with some of the spice mixture, until you’ve used up all the extra garlic and have spice filled holes on all the sides of the lamb.

Rub the rest of the spice mixture all over the shoulder. Wrap it securely with cling film, refrigerate and leave to marinate as long as you can. Overnight would be great but even an hour or two would be good.

When you are ready to start roasting the lamb shoulder, remove it from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Put lamb in a baking tray or pan and roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Add in your cup of wine and another cup of water around the roast. Cover with a tightly fitting lid or some aluminum foil. Turn the oven down to 250°F or 120°C.

After five hours, take the lamb out and toss in the remaining 22 whole garlic cloves. Baste it with the pan juices, cover the pan again and return it to the oven for one last hour of slow roasting.

When you are ready to serve, spoon off the oil in the pan. You can then pull the meat off the bones with a couple of forks and pour the pan juices over it. I let mine cool for quite a while and then wiggled the bones out to leave the roast looking relatively whole. Then I served it with a couple of forks and the pan juices made into gravy on the side. It was divine!

How about these wonderful recipes celebrating GARLIC!

• Black Garlic Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream from All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
• Caesar Tartlets with Sweet Garlic Butter Crusts from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Garlic and Herb Lamb Chops from Healthy. Delicious.
• Garlic Bread from My Catholic Kitchen
• Garlic Dill Roasted Potato Wedges from From Gate to Plate
• Garlic Fried Rice from Crazy Foodie Stunts
• Garlic Soup with Cheese & Garlic Olive Crunch Bread from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
• Garlic Trifecta with Quinoa Pasta and Spinach from Peaceful Cooking
• Gnocchetti with Asparagus and Garlic-Gorgonzola Sauce from The Spiffy Cookie
• Heart Healthy Roasted Garlic Chicken Recipe from It's Yummi!
• Roasted Garlic Butter from Basic N Delicious
• Roasted Garlic Chicken Pizza Pockets from Cindy's Recipes and Writings
• Slow-Roasted Lamb with 40 Cloves of Garlic from Food Lust People Love
• Vampire Garlic Dip from Kudos Kitchen By Renee