Creating delicious restaurant-style dishes is easier than you think. And my Seafood Rivera is as good if not better than any seafood pasta dish you'll get at your favorite Italian restaurant.
If you love seafood and pasta, you’re going to love my Seafood Riviera.
During my career as a restaurant chef, this was one of my more popular seafood and pasta dishes.
The sweet sundried tomatoes, earthy mushrooms and tangy artichokes blended together with the pesto and seafood to build a flavorful dish that will bring moans to your dinner table.
What ingredients are needed to make Seafood Riviera over Linguine
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Seafood Riviera. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How do I make Pesto?
If you’ve never made pesto before, there is really nothing to it. Although you will need a food processor or powerful blender to make pesto.
All you need is fresh basil, garlic cloves, grated Romano cheese, pine nuts or walnuts and olive oil.
One of my favorite ways to save pesto is to freeze it in an ice cube tray. I pop out the frozen pesto cubes and save them in a ziplock bag for when I need them.
Let’s start making the Seafood Riviera. The first step is to saute the scallops and mushrooms in olive oil. Cook the scallops for two minutes then add the shrimp to the pan.
Continue cooking the ingredients until the shrimp are barely cooked.
**If you have a bottle of white wine open you can add a splash of wine to deglaze the pan and stop the cooking process.
Add the stock, heavy cream, pesto and seasonings to the pan and mix the sauce together off the heat.
**This is about the time you should start cooking your pasta
Add the sun-dried tomatoes, sliced artichoke hearts and grated Romano cheese to the pan and allow to cook for 1 minute.
Add the butter rolled in flour to thicken the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken slightly.
Do I have to use Mushrooms, Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in my Seafood Riviera?
No you don’t, that’s the way I make this dish, but it doesn’t mean you can’t adapt it to use ingredients you enjoy eating.
I do always recommend trying recipes the way they were meant to be made, but if you’ve got an allergy or serious aversion to an ingredient it can be left out. Here are some of my replacement ideas.
- grape tomatoes cut in half instead of sun-dried tomatoes.
- zucchini (half circle cut) instead of artichokes
- small broccoli florets instead of mushrooms
Other additions or replacement ingredients are roasted red peppers, spinach and sliced kalamata or black olives.
If you timed the cooking process right the pasta should be done about the time the Seafood Riviera is finished.
If you haven’t timed things perfectly don’t worry, you can always precook the pasta, or remove the Riviera from the heat until the pasta is finished cooking.
What other pastas can I use for Seafood Riviera?
I like wider noodles for this dish but that doesn’t mean you can’t use your favorite pasta shapes. These are some of the types of pasta shapes that I recommend.
- Pappardelle
- Tagliatelle
- Fettuccine
- Bucatini
- Penne
If you enjoy seafood and pasta, you may also like these recipes:
- Clams and Spaghetti
- Bucatini with Blackened Salmon in a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
- Garlic Shrimp with Supergreens
- Fruitti di Mare
Seafood Riviera
Ingredients
- ½ lb linguine
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ lb scallops
- ½ lb shrimp
- ½ cup sundried tomatoes 12-16 halves
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup artichoke hearts 6-8 small hearts
- 2 tbsp pesto
- ¼ cup Romano cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¾ cup chicken stock or vegetabke stock
- 1 tsp granulated garlic
- 1 tsp granulated onion
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour
Pesto
- 2 bunches basil use basil leaves only, no large stems
- ½ bunch Italian parsley use parsley leaves only, no large stems
- 2 clove garlic
- ¼ cup pine nuts or walnuts toasted
- ¼ cup Romano cheese grated
- ¼ cup olive oil
Instructions
Pesto
- Remove the leaves from the basil and parsley, do not use the stems
- To toast your pine nuts get a pan sauté pan very hot, then turn off the heat, and add the pine nuts. Keep the pine nuts moving around so they toast without burning.
- Place the basil into your food processor, Pulse it's until it's minced very well.
- Add garlic, toasted pine nuts, and grated Romano cheese, pulse to combine.
- Drizzle in the Olive Oil until it has a nice smooth consistency without looking oily
Seafood Riviera
- Get pasta water ready. You will cook the pasta once you begin to make the sauce for the seafood riviera.
- Add olive oil to a large hot saute pan. Place the scallops on one side of the pan and the mushrooms on the other side of the pan. Cook for 2 minutes, moving the mushrooms around as they cook.
- After two minutes flip the scallops and add the shrimp to the pan. Move the shrimp around and cook until they are almost finished.
- Add the stock, heavy cream, pesto and seasonings to the pan and mix the sauce together off the heat.**This is about the time you should start cooking your pasta
- Add the sun-dried tomatoes, sliced artichoke hearts and grated Romano cheese to the pan and bring the sauce to a light boil. Add the butter rolled in flour to thicken the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and allow the sauce to reduce and thicken slightly. (about 2 minutes)
- Serve the finished dish over linguine or the pasta of your choice.**Mix a little of the sauce with the pasta before adding the other ingredients. It will make the dish look better when you serve it
Nutrition
More recipes from my site
Chicken and Shrimp Toscano- Bucatini with Blackened Salmon and Asparagus in a Gorgonzola Cream Sauce
- Lobster Fra Diavolo Bianco Recipe for your next Date Night Dinner
- How to Make Shrimp Scampi Ravioli – Date Night Dinners
- Sicilian Style Seafood with Pasta and Eggplant
- Ligurian Seafood Stew with a Basil Saffron Cream Sauce
Debbie says
Such a wonderful seafood dish! I loved the flavor the fresh pesto gave this pasta. The combination of scallops, shrimp and mushrooms was the best ever. This made me feel like I was at an elegant restaurant.
Lori | The Kitchen Whisperer says
Such a great summer dish. I love seafood and pasta dishes so much. My mouth is watering over this. I’ve already added some of the ingredients to my grocery list! Thank you for sharing
Elaine says
I’ve had a big batch of seafood sitting in my fridge, so I was wondering what to do with it. This riviera looks fantastic, so I am sure my fridge will be empty pretty soon 🙂 Delicious recipe!
Barbies Beauty Bits says
Oh my goodness. This looks so yummy. Making me hungry, I’m going to have to make this soon
Tammy says
Seafood and pasta is the best kind of comfort food in my opinion. This dish is making me miss being able to eat out right now! Looks terrific, Dennis!
Veronika says
My husband LOVES mushrooms and seafood! and he will love this recipe. Will save it and make it for him next week.
jen says
Chef Dennis does it again. He really makes restaurant-quality meals accessible. Love the sun died tomato, artichoke, and mushrooms combo.
Swathi says
This looks delicious meal at comfort of home. Love simple and full of flavor sea food rich pasta dish, creamy addition of sundried tomatoes make is more yummy.
Ana says
A shrimp and pasta sound like absolute divine! Your seafood Riviera looks incredibly delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us!
Bolupe says
Absolutely fantastic recipe. We love pasta and having a restaurant styled food at home is just blissful.
Thanks for the tip on saving pesto in an ice-cube tray. I’ve never thought of that.
Leslie says
This looks like a true masterpiece! I love seafood and pasta!
Lizzie Lau says
I love scallops and I can imagine how well all these flavors and textures go together. I’m reading this at breakfast time and I’m ready to skip ahead and have a big bowl of Seafood Riviera!
Natalie says
Such a lovely dinner option. Looks delicious. Thanks for sharing all the tips. I will definitely give this recipe a try.
Jaime says
I love shrimp in pasta. I love finding new recipes for our family. Thanks for sharing this one!
Gervin Khan says
Wow! Pasta and Sea foods really a great combination for an awesome recipe. Loved the creativity and the recipe itself. Thanks for sharing this to us.
Lynndee says
I’m a huge fan of seafood. That being said, this seafood pasta is making me drool. Can’t wait to make some.
Catalina says
Nothing can be better than these seafood linguine. I know that my husband will appreciate it!
Agens says
I love pastas with sundried tomatoes! This looks yum, will try this recipe this weekend.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
Yum! This Seafood Riviera is making me super hungry! I can’t wait to taste this.
Eva says
I have eaten my share of seafood pasta in Italy (I come from the Alps, but I would visit the seaside often and that was always an excuse to eat seafood pasta) and I find it really interesting that you added mushrooms, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes! It’s like mixing elements of the land with elements of the sea, I love the idea!
Marysa says
This looks like a delicious combination. And such a hearty dish! I love pasta, and it is nice to have some different ways to serve it.
Shelley says
Oh wow – it’s so obvious why this was one of your most popular dishes! It just LOOKS like a restaurant-quality meal … and the flavor combination is gorgeous. Absolutely something I would be excited to order if we were eating out, and it’s so great that I can make it at home! Terrific method photos and great tip on freezing the pesto, too, but I especially appreciated the suggestions of other ingredients – like grape tomatoes and zucchini – that you can sub in. I love the original flavor combo, but thought your substitution ideas sounded delicious to try, too, just to switch things up! Another wonderful recipe post!
robin rue says
That sounds like a really tasty meal. I am sure my entire family will love this dish.
Sabrina says
I am always looking for ways to cook with artichokes, thank you!
Sue says
“If you love seafood and pasta” – I’ll just raise my hand right there! Cannot wait to try this one!
Sue says
Trying soon!
Amber Myers says
I can see how people who love seafood would love this! I’d be all about the pasta, but no seafood for me. My kids love it though!
Sarah Bailey says
Ohh my mouth is watering, I do love a good seafood dish and this sounds like something I would really enjoy.
Tasheena says
My son is a huge fan of seafood. Looking forward to trying this recipe for him.
Debra says
Love the rich flavor profile. Artichoke hearts and pesto? I’m in!
Jennifer Van Haitsma says
This looks so good! I’ve had a taste for shrimp this week, so I’ll have to try this. Another delicious looking recipe 🙂
Marina says
Seafood spaghetti with shrimp and scallops is my favourite! What a great recipe!