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Home » Recipes » Pasta Recipes

Seafood Riviera – Restaurant Style Dish

Published: Jun 1, 2020 · Modified: May 26, 2021 by Chef Dennis Littley

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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.

overhead shot of Seafood Riviera consisting of shrimp, scallops mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and sliced artichoke hearts in a pesto sauce served over linguine
Table of Contents:
  • Audio Player
  • What ingredients are needed to make Seafood Riviera over Linguine
  • How do I make Pesto?
  • Do I have to use Mushrooms, Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes in my Seafood Riviera?
  • What other pastas can I use for Seafood Riviera?
  • Recipe FAQ’s:
  • More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love!
  • Recipe: Seafood Riviera

Audio Player



 

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.

If you would like to add a seafood stew to your menu, try out my delicious cioppino recipe, it is sooo good.

What ingredients are needed to make Seafood Riviera over Linguine

ingredients to make seafood riviera in glass bowls on a wooden cutting board

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?

white bowl of basil pesto on a yellow table cloth

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.

partial overhead shot of a white ice cube tray filled with pesto

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.

ingredients to make seafood riviera including scallops, shrimp and mushrooms in a large saute pan

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.

saute pan with shrimp, scallops and mushrooms, with heavy cream, stock, pesto and seasonings added

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

saute pan with sundried tomatoes, sliced artichoke hearts and Romano cheese added to the sauce

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.

side view shot of seafood riviera consisting of shrimp and scallops in a pesto sauce with sundried tomatoes, mushrooms and artichoke hearts over linguine in a white bowl

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

Recipe FAQ’s:

What is seafood riviera?

Seafood riviera is a combination of seafood, in a light pesto sauce with mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and sometimes olives. It’s served over linguine, pappardelle, tagliatelle, fettuccine, or bucatini.

What kind of seafood can I use to make Seafood Riviera?

Shrimp, scallops, calamari, clams or mussels (out of the shell) and your favorite fish can be used to make seafood riviera.

Do you have to use heavy cream to make seafood riviera?

No, you don’t. You can leave it out altogether or use Greek yogurt, light cream, half and half, or your favorite non-dairy milk as a substitute.

More Seafood Recipes You’ll Love!

  • partial view of Frutti di mare in a white bowl
    Best Frutti di Mare Recipe
  • partial view of seafood marinara in a white bowl
    Seafood Marinara with Pasta Recipe
  • bowl of seafood stew next to garlic toast
    Spanish Seafood Stew Recipe
  • shrimp and scallops in a roasted red pepper sauce served over linguine in a white bowl
    Shrimp & Scallops in a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

partial view of seafood riviera in a white bowl

Seafood Riviera

Chef Dennis Littley
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.
5 from 32 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe Listen to the Post
Prep Time 25 minutes mins
Cook Time 15 minutes mins
Total Time 40 minutes mins
Course Entree
Cuisine Italian
Servings 2
Calories 1232 kcal

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 tablespoon pesto
  • ¼ cup Romano cheese
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • ¾ cup chicken stock or vegetabke stock
  • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon granulated onion
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon 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

Calories: 1232kcalCarbohydrates: 121gProtein: 69gFat: 53gSaturated Fat: 26gCholesterol: 442mgSodium: 2141mgPotassium: 2036mgFiber: 10gSugar: 18gVitamin A: 2324IUVitamin C: 28mgCalcium: 431mgIron: 8mg
Tried this recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askchefdennis or tag #askchefdennis!

Comments

    5 from 32 votes (9 ratings without comment)

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Debbie says

    June 07, 2020 at 10:10 pm

    5 stars
    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.

    Reply
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My name is Chef Dennis Littley, creator and owner of Ask Chef Dennis Productions. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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