The Dish: Scampi in Philadelphia's Queen Village section sahres recipe for shrimp scampi

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — In this edition of The Dish, we’re heading to a new Italian supper club in Queen Village called Scampi.

The quirky and crazy delicious BYOB celebrates every kind of Italian cuisine.

Because it’s called Scampi, we’re learning to make their shrimp scampi.

Chef/Owner Liz Grothe opened Scampi last December.

She calls it a “fun little restaurant.”

“I am a Filipino American from Oklahoma, cooking fine Italian food in Philadelphia,” she says. “This restaurant is the story of how immigration changes people and the places that people immigrate to.”

The best example of that, she says, is the restaurant’s name: Scampi.

“Scampi means shrimp,” Grothe says, “so shrimp scampi just means shrimp shrimp.”

In Italy, scampi refers to a type of shellfish, specifically langoustines, not shrimp.

When Italians immigrates to the US, they substituted the expensive langoustines for less expensive shrimp, and prepared it in what we now associate as a scampi-style preparation: butter, wine and parsley.

Here in America, “shrimp scampi” essentially means “shrimp prepared scampi-style.”

In case you’re wondering, she makes American style scampi with really big, gorgeous Oishii shrimp.

Grothe is also a pasta girl. She loves it, she makes it fresh and by hand and it’s at the heart of her menu.

“I grew up in an Asian American household, so noodles were a big part of my diet,” she explains.

Grothe worked in the kitchen at spots like Marc Vetri’s Fiorella and got hooked on Italian pasta.

“As I got more into it, I just kind of fell in love with Italy, its culture, its stories and the ways that they make food,” she says.

So she traveled there to learn the technique, and the soul of the Italian staple.

With every menu, she celebrates a region.

“We’ve covered Tuscany, we’ve covered Sicily, Puglia, Bologna and Emilia Romagna,” she says.

This September, the spotlight will be on Rome.

“One of our goals is for it to feel like a stationary food tour, like I’m tasting the foods of this Italian city,” she says.

A few years ago, Grothe started a series of dinner parties at her home in Northern Liberties.

She called it Couch Café.

“It was a way to make cooking fun again,” she says. “I would seat twenty people in my apartment. We would have something very similar to what we do now, a fixed menu with five-ish courses.”

Scampi seats 24 inside, plus the courtyard outside.

Super fun vibes, and serious food.

“We change the menu based on availability, based on what’s delicious right then and there, and what is in season and exciting,” she says.

Scampi’s Shrimp Scampi Recipe In this edition of The Dish, we're heading to a new Italian supper club in Queen Village called Scampi.

In this edition of The Dish, we’re heading to a new Italian supper club in Queen Village called Scampi.

1 tablespoonColatura di alici

PROCESS:

1. Season shrimp with a little bit of salt and Calabrian chili powder.

2. Lightly sear in a hot pan with extra virgin olive oil, for color.

TIP: Do not overcook.

3. Add more chili flakes, if you like heat.

4. Toss in some fresh parsley and a little bit of white wine and the butter.

5. Lower heat and let it cook, to sort of steam it.

6. Add a splash of Colatura di alici, an Italian fish sauce.

7. Squeeze more lemon and then add some pasta water or stock and simmer, and then turn off the heat, to emulsify the sauce.

8. Garnish with fresh lemon and parsley.