A quick and easy skillet meal with tender chicken scampi over perfectly cooked buttery, garlic parmesan rice.

Did you know that scampi is an actual thing? I didn’t! I was doing a little research before I wrote this recipe post and learned that scampi isn’t merely a way of cooking garlicy shrimp but it’s actually the original crustacean used in the popular dish (hence the name)!

WHO KNEW?!

Scampi, which is actually the Italian plural of scampo, are very small lobsters also called Dublin Bay Prawns or Norway Lobster found in the Mediterranean and northeastern Atlantic from North Africa to Norway and Iceland.

Scampi were most often prepared in Italy by sautéing them with olive oil, garlic and white wine. Italian immigrants in America substituted shrimp in place of the scampi but kept the “scampi” name and cooking method which morphed over the years into the common menu item we’re familiar with: shrimp scampi.

Fascinating stuff, folks. Fascinating!

American cooks and restaurants have used the scampi method of cooking (again, we took this from an ingredient to a cooking style) for shrimp, lobster, crawfish and even chicken. The Olive Garden restaurant’s Chicken Scampi is one of their most popular menu items.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. chicken tenderloins
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic*
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked white rice
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and garlic powder. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet. Sauté chicken tenderloins until nicely browned and just cooked through. Remove chicken from skillet, cover chicken then set aside.
2. Add butter, garlic, pepper flakes and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the skillet then sauté garlic for 3 minutes (do not let the garlic burn or become too brown).
3. Increase skillet temperature to medium-high then add white wine. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon to emulsify the wine into the butter. Cook and stir for approximately 5 minutes or until mixture is reduced by half. Remove and set aside 2 tablespoons of pan sauce to use later.
4. Add rice to skillet with remaining butter sauce then stir and cook for 3-4 minutes or until rice starts to brown just a little. Add chicken broth and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring mixture to a low boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover pan then cook for 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Stir once or twice the first 15 minutes of cooking but not more than that.
5. Sprinkle parmesan over rice then arrange chicken tenders in skillet over rice. Drizzle reserved 2 tablespoons of pan sauce over chicken tenders. Cover, remove from heat then let stand for 5 minutes. Garnish dish with more parmesan and chopped fresh parsley if desired.