Shrimp Scampi is a very popular dish in Italian-American cuisine. It consists of shrimp sautéed with garlic, olive oil, white wine, and onion. And it's often served with pasta or rice.
Shrimps are a type of seafood similar to and an easy substitute for scampi. In fact, they're both crustaceans of the decapod order. Or to put it simply, they're like tiny little lobsters.
Scampi is also known as Norway Lobster or Dublin Bay Prawn. And it can be found in the Mediterranean sea and the northeastern Atlantic.
That being said, calling the dish Shrimp Scampi is a bit confusing. But we'll clear all that up once we take a look at the origin of this great-tasting food.
As mentioned earlier, Shrimp Scampi is an Italian-American dish. It was invented by Italians who immigrated to the United States around the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In Italian, scampi is the plural of scampo. They were traditionally used in cooking in Italy. Indeed, there are indications that crayfish were cooked in Genoa as early as the 1400s.
However, since scampi weren't readily available in America, the Italian immigrants had to find a substitute. And so, shrimp was the perfect solution.
We can assume that "shrimp scampi" was short for "preparing shrimp, scampi-style." In other words, even though shrimp is a different ingredient than scampi, the name of the dish includes both.
Still, there are some other references to this kind of meal that we need to mention.
Notably, Hannah Glasse describes a similar dish in her famous cookbook "The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy." She published it in 1747 and it became the best-selling cookery book of the century.
Speaking of cookbooks, there are American ones that mention Shrimp Scampi in 1920.
But it wasn't after World War II i.e. the 1950s that the dish became a staple in the US.
Today, Shrimp Scampi is beloved by everyone in America. And there's even a National Shrimp Scampi Day which is celebrated on April 29.
There is more than one way to make Shrimp Scampi. For example, chicken can be used instead of shrimp. Or even other crustaceans such as crayfish or mollusks like scallops.
What's more, for those on a vegetarian diet, you can have the meal with grilled asparagus rather than shrimp. Plus, some parsley can be added for that extra flavor.
A Shrimp Scampi serving of 100 grams contains about 119 calories. This includes 1.7 g of total fat or 2% of the daily value based on a 2000-calorie diet.
In addition, there are 211 mg of cholesterol (70%), 947 mg of sodium (39%), and 170 mg of potassium (4%). As for protein, there are 23 g or 46%.
And in regards to vitamins and minerals, we got 1% of iron, 10% of vitamin B6, 9% of magnesium, 9% of calcium, 1% of vitamin D, as well as 28% of cobalamin.
As you already know, Shrimp Scampi is a very popular dish all across America. So, let's see some great places where you can get it.
For those of you in Las Vegas, we recommend Amano Pizza & Italian Cuisine. Located at 5601 N Tenaya Way, they offer outstanding Shrimp Scampi. You can give them a visit or order takeout or delivery on Slice.
And if you happen to be in Boston, then Rocco's Cucina & Bar is the right place for you! You can find them on Commercial St or order for pickup via Slice. What's great is you save 10% on any online order through the Slice app!
Of course, for all other cities, consult the listings on this page.