Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks. It looks fancy, but it's very easy to make. Because it's made with lemon juice and olive oil, it's not as heavy as some of the really buttery shrimp scampi recipes. But, it still has a lot of flavor. The recipe calls for linguine, but I substitute angel hair pasta because we like it better. I served this when Scott's mom came to visit and served it with garlic bread and Caesar salad.

Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

Serves 6

Vegetable oil
Salt
1-1/2 pounds linguine (I use angel hair)
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
5 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp minced garlic (9 cloves)
2 pounds large shrimp (about 32 shrimp), peeled and deveined
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Grated zest of 1 lemon (I left this part out without any loss of flavor)
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
1/2 lemon, thinly sliced in half-rounds
1/4 tsp hot red pepper flakes, optional

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. In the meantime, mince garlic, chop parsley and squeeze and slice lemons.
2. Drizzle some oil in a large pot of boiling salted water, add 1 Tbsp of salt and the pasta, and cook as directed on package.
3. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter and olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Be careful, the garlic burns easily! Add the shrimp, 1 Tbsp of salt and the pepper and saute until the shrimp have just turned pink, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from the heat, add parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon slices, and red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.
4. When the pasta is done, drain the cooked pasta and then put it back in the pot. Immediately add the shrimp and sauce, toss well and serve.