Beginning in 1886, Tampa’s cigar industry attracted immigrants from Cuba, Spain and Sicily, and they all brought their favorite foods. By the 1920s, Tampa’s ethnic boundaries blurred as the smells of immigrant cooking mingled in the subtropical air, giving rise to “fusion cuisine” long before it was a trendy catch phrase in high-end restaurants.
The waters of Tampa Bay teemed with blue crab back then, making it a staple in local recipes. If the deviled crab was Tampa’s signature street food — portable and quick — crab enchilado was a homey crowd pleaser that brought family and friends together for long, steamy afternoons. Every major ethnic group in Tampa ate it, and though they called it chilau or shelah it always meant the same thing: blue crabs simmered in a slightly spicy tomato sauce and served over pasta. This simple description doesn’t do the dish justice — it is more than the sum of its parts. The tomato sauce is light enough to let the crab play lead, substantial enough to cling to the pasta, and spicy enough to keep it all interesting.
Outside of Tampa, enchilado sauce is made widely across Latin and North America — often with shrimp or whatever seafood is handy — and served over rice. Tampa’s version took on new characteristics as the dish was adapted especially for the bay area’s abundant blue crab, the Cuban penchant for spicy heat and the availability of locally produced pasta, courtesy of macaroni factories built by Sicilian immigrants.
This article appears in May 5-11, 2010.