Scampi, also called Dublin Bay Prawn or Norway Lobster (''

Nephrops norvegicus ''Nephrops norvegicus'', known variously as the Norway lobster, Dublin Bay prawn, ' (compare langostino) or ''scampi'', is a slim, orange-pink lobster which grows up to long, and is "the most important commercial crustacean in Europe". It is n ...

''), is an edible

lobster Lobsters are a family (biology), family (Nephropidae, Synonym (taxonomy), synonym Homaridae) of marine crustaceans. They have long bodies with muscular tails and live in crevices or burrows on the sea floor. Three of their five pairs of legs ...

of the order '' Decapoda''. It is widespread in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

and northeastern

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, from

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, and is a gastronomic delicacy. Scampi became the only species in the genus '' Nephrops'' after several other species were moved to the closely related genus '' Metanephrops''. Shrimp Scampi is a food that includes various culinary preparations of certain crustaceans, such as '' Metanephrops'', as well as

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

prawns Prawn is a common name for small aquatic crustaceans with an exoskeleton and ten legs (which is a member of the order decapoda), some of which can be eaten. The term "prawn"Mortenson, Philip B (2010''This is not a weasel: a close look at nature ...

. Shrimp Scampi preparation styles vary regionally. The United Kingdom legally defines ''scampi'' specifically as ''Nephrops norvegicus''.

Monkfish Members of the genus ''Lophius'', also sometimes called monkfish, fishing-frogs, frog-fish, and sea-devils, are various species of lophiid anglerfishes found in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. ''Lophius'' is known as the "monk" or "monkfish" ...

tail was formerly sometimes used and sold as scampi in the United Kingdom, contravening the Fish Labelling (Amendment) England Regulation 2005 and Schedule 1 of the Food Labelling Regulations 1996.

Name

''Scampi'' is the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

plural of , ''Nephrops norvegicus''. The Italian word may be derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

καμπή ''kampē'' ("bending" or "winding").

''Nephrops norvegicus''

Norwegian lobsters are also known as Dublin Bay prawns, - the term prawn can be confusing as it is a vernacular or colloquial term that has no clearly defined scientific meaning - see

Shrimp versus prawn Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

. The food labelling laws (in Britain, for example) define "scampi" as ''Nephrops norvegicus''. In the UK, it is generally known by its common name, the Langoustine.

Preparation methods

According to the French encyclopaedia ''

Larousse Gastronomique ' () is an encyclopedia of gastronomy. The majority of the book is about French cuisine, and contains recipes for French dishes and cooking techniques. The first edition included few non-French dishes and ingredients; later editions include many ...

'', langoustine are delicate and need to be poached only for a few seconds in

court-bouillon Court-bouillon or court bouillon (in Louisiana, pronounced ''coo-bee-yon'') is a quickly-cooked broth used for poaching other foods, most commonly fish or seafood. It is also sometimes used for poaching vegetables, eggs, sweetbreads, cockscombs ...

. When very fresh, they have a slightly sweet flavour that is lost when frozen. They can be eaten plain, accompanied by melted butter. In Britain, the shelled tail meat is generally referred to as "scampi tails" or "wholetail scampi", although cheaper "re-formed scampi" can contain other parts together with other fish. It is served fried in batter or breadcrumbs and usually with

chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

and

tartar sauce Tartar sauce (French: ''sauce tartare''; spelled tartare sauce in the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, South Africa) is a condiment made of mayonnaise, chopped pickles and/or relish, capers, and herbs such as tarragon and dill. Tarta ...

. It is widely available in supermarkets and restaurants and considered pub or snack food, although factors reducing Scottish fishing catches (such as bad weather) can affect its availability. In the United States, "shrimp scampi" is the menu name for

Italian-American cuisine Italian-American cuisine is a style of Italian cuisine adapted throughout the United States. Italian-American food has been shaped throughout history by various waves of immigrants and their descendants, called Italian Americans. As immigrants ...

(the actual word for "shrimp" in Italian is ''gambero'' or ''gamberetto'', plural ''gamberi'' or ''gamberetti''). "Scampi" by itself is a dish of ''Nephrops norvegicus'' served in

garlic butter Garlic butter, also known as ''beurre à la bourguignonne'', is a compound butter used as a flavoring for many dishes or as a condiment.'' Larousse Gastronomique'' (1961), Crown Publishers(''Translated from the French, Librairie Larousse, Pari ...

, dry

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

and

Parmesan cheese Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces A province is almost always an administrat ...

, either with bread or over pasta or rice, or sometimes just the shrimp alone. The term "shrimp scampi" is construed as a style of preparation, with variants such as "chicken scampi", "lobster scampi", and "scallop scampi".

As an alternative seafood

Owing to the decline of fish stocks, British chefs including

Heston Blumenthal Heston Marc Blumenthal (; born 27 May 1966) is a British celebrity chef, TV personality and food writer. Blumenthal is regarded as a pioneer of multi-sensory cooking, food pairing and flavour encapsulation. He came to public attention with u ...

and

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Hugh Christopher Edmund Fearnley-Whittingstall (born 14 January 1965) is an English celebrity chef, television personality, journalist, food writer, and campaigner on food and environmental issues. Fearnley-Whittingstall hosted the ''River C ...

launched a "Fish Fight" campaign in 2010, attempting to raise awareness of alternative seafoods. They championed scampi and other lesser-known seafood dishes as a more sustainable source of protein.

National Shrimp Scampi Day

In the United States, National Shrimp Scampi Day occurs annually on April 29.

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Food American cuisine Animal-based seafood European cuisine Seafood dishes Shrimp dishes