What Is Lobster Scampi?

Lobster scampi is a lobster-based seafood dish that is served alone or with pasta, but is occasionally served with rice. Although a well-known dish, people may be more familiar with shrimp scampi. The typical at-home recipe serves about five people and consists of seven basic ingredients; a handful of other ingredients are optional. Although it's usually not the most diet-friendly entree, there are ways to create a dish that's slightly better for you.

Shrimp scampi is typically more familiar to people than lobster scampi, and the price may have something to do with it considering lobster is more expensive than shrimp. With lobster as the main ingredient, the dish can serve as a filling meal by itself. To complement the meal, some may choose to serve pasta with it, usually linguine or bow tie pasta. Although rare, there are those who may choose to serve it with rice instead.

With only seven basic ingredients in lobster scampi — many of which are likely already in your kitchen — it's a fairly easy dish to prepare. The main ingredient is of course lobster, specifically, the meat from two to three lobsters, depending on preference. The other basic ingredients are butter, garlic cloves, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, white wine and lemon juice. All of the items can be cooked in a single skillet.

As with most dishes, there are optional ingredients that can also go in. Additional seasonings include grated Parmesan cheese, parsley, paprika, hot mustard and crushed red pepper flakes. Other ingredients that can be added include mushrooms, tomatoes and onions. The optional items can cook in the skillet with the basic ingredients or can be added on top after the entree is plated. The lobster scampi should be added on top of the pasta only when both are fully finished cooking and still completely hot.

There aren't many ingredients to cut back on to make the dish more diet-friendly, but there are a few which can still allow for taste without the extra calories. One option is to reduce the amount of olive oil, from the usual two tablespoons to one. Another option is to use light butter as well as reduce the amount of it. Skip the Parmesan cheese to eliminate even more calories.

To cut back on the cost of the dish, some may decide to use lobster that's already packaged, however, fresh lobster certainly enhances the taste of the dish. Due to the type of ingredients included, it's recommend that those making lobster scampi should eat it freshly made as opposed to eating leftovers. The ingredients may somewhat coagulate when they get cold and not fully return to their original, fresh state.