Tony Zentgraf
Novelli’s Crab & Seafood
a Florence Oregon Destination
Recently Culinary Seasons visited Novelli’s Crab & Seafood in Florence, Oregon and conducted an Exploring the Source interview with Daniel Reynolds, owner of Novelli’s Crab & Seafood. Fresh Crab & Shrimp Scampi Style with Pepperoncini & Fettuccine was inspired by the fresh crab Novelli’s crab tank.
Award Winning Chowder
This unique business where Daniel and his crew of one begin prepping in the middle of the night. Their 5 time award winning competition Crab Chowder & garlic bread sell out daily! Don’t for get your ice chest to pick up some live or cooked crab. Make this a stop on your trip to Florence, OR or on your trip along the Oregon coast.
Novelli’s has also been awarded Readers Choice Award of Best of Florence for Chowder several years in a row.
Featured on Food Network
Novelli’s Crab & Seafood has also been featured on the Food Network and on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri.
To honor Daniel and Novelli’s Crab & Seafood, I wanted to write a recipe that keeps the crab at the forefront of the flavors of the dish. At Novelli’s if you are ‘dine in’ at their dock seating. It is a great way to enjoy the fresh cooked crab.
On their menu, there is an option to add “The Works” butter, cocktail sauce and lemon. In keeping with Novelli’s “The Works”
I also wanted to keep some of those classic flavors with the crab. The buttery sauce with, lemon, garlic, and a touch of heat compliment the crab.
Scampi – An Italian Dish or Is it?
As mentioned in other recipes posts, many ingredients we are accustomed to in the U.S. have not necessarily originated where we think they have. The vegetables in the recipe have taken a trip around the world before they were introduced to the new world. Even the recipe we use may have changed over time as part of cultural and religious migration and trade routes.
This seems to be the case of Scampi. Most times when we hear scampi, we immediately go to Shrimp Scampi as this is what has been on the menus in restaurants across the country. The word Scampi has a meaning of its own, that up until recently I was unaware of.
It’s a Shrimp Dish, No It’s a Pasta Dish, No it’s a…?
Scampi are actually a small lobster type crustaceans otherwise known as Dublin Bay Prawn, Langoustine, or Norway Lobster. Scampi are not found off the coast of the U.S. and mainly found off the coasts of Europe.
Because of this, using shrimp in scampi was an easy change for U.S. chefs. Most likely these cousins of lobsters were originally prepared by sauteing them or splitting and roasting over fire, then finished with lemon and butter.
As the various names of the Scampi imply, these crustaceans have been eaten all along the coasts of Europe for centuries, if not millennia.
While many Italian restaurants around the world serve Shrimp Scampi. The style and ingredients of the dish is what we equate what scampi is not the crustacean it self. I could continue down the path of who came up with the recipe of Shrimp Scampi but many countries take claim.
As we discussed above, there are many opinions around the world on who and where it actually came from. But I know what you are thinking, let’s get to cooking, I want to eat some crab!
The crab in the scampi style pasta dish goes very well with the sauce. To be honest I liked the crab better than the shrimp in this dish, but I ate it all nonetheless. 😎
I hope you Enjoy the recipe for Fresh Crab & Shrimp Scampi Style with Pepperoncini & Fettuccine!
Fresh Crab & Shrimp Scampi Style with Pepperoncini & Fettuccine
Print RecipeRecipe Multiplier
- Meat of 1 Fresh Cooked Crab (or roughly 1/3 – 1/2 lb meat)
- 12 ea Shrimp peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter Salted
- 1 ea Shallot minced
- ¼ ea Yellow Bell Pepper minced
- 8 ea Garlic Cloves minced
- 2 ea Tomatoes small diced (I used small garden style slicing tomatoes but you can use roma tomatoes)
- 1 tsp Red Chili Flakes
- 1 ea Fresh Pepperoncini (or if unavailable, use about 10 slices of pickled ones. Rinse them to remove excess brine.)
- 2 ea Lemons Juiced
- ¾ cup White Wine
- 5 tbsp Butter (cut into pats)
- Pinch of Kosher Salt
- Pinch of Ground Black Pepper
- ¾ lb Fettuccine Uncooked
Instructions
Cook Fettuccine
- Bring salted water to a boil.
- Cook pasta as per directions on package.
- Drain and slightly olive oil the pasts to keep from sticking. ~ If you time the cooking of the sauce during the time it takes to cook the pasta you can go right into tossing the pasta into the sauce
Preparing the Ingredients for the Sauce
- Mince the shallot, garlic, and bell pepper.
- Slice the pepperoncini and dice the tomatoes.
- Juice the lemons.
- Slice the cold butter into 1 tbl pats.
Cooking the Dish
- In a saute pan, over medium high add the olive oil and 1 tbl of butter.
- Add the shallots and yellow bell peppers to the pan and saute.
- Once the shallots begin to look translucent, add the shrimp. Let the shrimp sit in the hot pan for a minute on one side before turning.
- Turn the shrimp and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute longer.
- Remove the shrimp from the saute pan and reserve to add later.
- Add the diced tomatoes, red chili flakes and sliced pepperoncini. Saute the ingredients for about 30 seconds to bring out the oils.
- Add the lemon juice and white wine. Turn the heat to high and reduce the wine for about a minute.
- Add the remaining butter pats and reduce the heat to medium low. Swirl the pan to incorporate the butter.
- Adjust seasoning with Kosher salt and black pepper.
- Add the crab and the reserved shrimp. Toss the ingredients to heat the crab and finish cooking the shrimp.
- Add the pasta to the saute pan and toss to coat. Plate the pasta and pour the sauce and crab over the top of the fettucine. Arrange the shrimp around the pasta. Enjoy!
