Taming the pesky “meanwhile”: Grilled Shrimp Scampi with Orzo

For Grilled Shrimp Scampi with Orzo, the marinade for the shrimp doubles as sauce for the pasta. Recipe below.

[su_dropcap style=”flat”]M[/su_dropcap]eanwhile gets tossed around rather freely in recipes. “Meanwhile, cook the pasta.” “Meanwhile, make the biscuits.” Sometimes, that’s fine—being able to multi-task is an invaluable cooking skill. But sometimes, it can feel like you’re already juggling flaming batons and someone just tossed you a running chainsaw.

We had that this weekend. For Sunday’s dinner, we were grilling Japanese eggplants and mixing up two sauces to serve with them (we’ll share this recipe next week). Meanwhile, we were marinating and grilling shrimp. Meanwhile, we were cooking orzo with a scampi sauce to serve with the shrimp. None of this sounds too daunting as I type this. But in the moment, I was struggling with how we were going to make these various “meanwhiles” all requiring attention at the same time happen at once, right at the end.

Everything came together deliciously. Here are some things we were reminded of—and things we improvised—to manage all the “meanwhiles.” They can probably help you do the same when you’re cooking.

Time your prep. Figure out what can be done well ahead (peeling the shrimp, for instance). Use enforced down time—waiting for coals to get good and hot or for something to chill, for instance. Or if one dish has a long cooking time, that provides ample prep time for others. Also keep in mind what needs to be prepped last minute and plan accordingly.

Serve warm or room temperature. These magic words meant we could grill the eggplant before we did the shrimp. When you see “room temperature” in a recipe, embrace it—that means you’re not finishing everything at exactly the same time.

Make ahead. Dishes that can be made ahead, then gently reheated if needed, also ease last-minute challenges in the kitchen. For the orzo, we did a modified version of this, taking the dish to almost-done, then reheating and adding the final ingredients at the end.

Ask for help. If an extra pair of hands is available, put them to work. And don’t wait ’til you’re in the weeds—having someone perform tasks that don’t require lots of explanation or supervision can help you stay on top of everything else.

And now, on to the recipe. Grilling the shrimp creates an interesting spin on the classic Italian dish, shrimp scampi. Most recipes for grilled shrimp scampi don’t bother with pasta. Ignore them—you want the pasta. The shrimp will only subtly take on the marinade flavors; the pasta is a lively addition to the the smoky shrimp.

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Grilled Shrimp Scampi with Orzo

For Grilled Shrimp Scampi with Orzo, the marinade for the shrimp doubles as sauce for the pasta.

Course Main Course, Pasta, seafood

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, plus the zest of 1 lemon
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley, divided
• 6 ounces dried orzo (see Kitchen Notes)
• 1/4 cup dry white wine

Instructions

• Place the shrimp in a nonreactive bowl. Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and red pepper in a measuring cup or bowl. Season lightly with salt and generously with black pepper. Pour half the mixture over the shrimp. Sprinkle half the parsley over the shrimp and gently, but thoroughly mix together with a wooden spoon. Set aside to marinate for about 30 minutes.
• Start the coals for the grill. You want medium-high heat.
• Yes, meanwhile, start the pasta. Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the orzo about 1 minute less than being al dente. Reserve some of the cooking water, just in case, and drain the pasta. Set aside.
• When your coals are just about ready—and just before grilling the shrimp—finish the pasta. Heat a sauté pan over medium flame. Add the remaining marinade to the pan and cook until you smell the garlic, about 45 seconds. Stir in the wine and cook for a minute or 2 to reduce slightly. Stir in the cooked orzo, using a spoon to break it up if it's stuck together. Stir in the lemon zest. Heat through, about a minute or two. Turn off the heat and cover.
• Now (not meanwhile), grill the shrimp. Oil the grate (or better yet, use a perforated grilling grate—can't recommend this enough for avoiding shrimp falling through the grate). Arrange the shrimp in a single layer and grill for about 3 minutes. Turn and grill on the other side until just cooked through and opaque, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
• Assemble everything. Gently reheat the orzo, if needed, then remove from heat, stir in the remaining parsley and season with salt and black pepper. If the pasta seems dry (mine didn't), add a little pasta water to it. Divide between 2 shallow pasta bowls. Top with shrimp and serve.

Kitchen Notes

What size shrimp? First, let's all have a laugh at the term jumbo shrimp. Then buy them. As you can see, I left the tails on—it made for a better presentation and turned the meal into part finger food. Or you can remove the tails and eat with a fork, like civilized people. And for that matter, buy whatever size shrimp looks good at the store.

Orzo? Really? Shrimp scampi is most traditionally served with linguine or other long pasta. But the rice-like orzo just seemed like an easy-to-eat (no spinning on the fork while navigating around shrimp), summery choice. Perfect for a grilled dinner.