OOne of the dishes I discovered in my young manhood was linguine in white clam sauce. To this day it’s still a favorite in our crowd. Recently I was gifted with some crabmeat, and I thought, why not do the same, except using crabmeat instead of clams? Well, the experiment worked. The result was a delicious pasta dinner that everyone loved. This time around I used angel hair pasta. But it can also work with thin spaghetti or, the old standby, linguine. So, here it is, Pasta in Crabmeat Sauce. I’m sure the dish can work with tubular pasta as well, such as penne, elbow macaroni. or bow ties (farfalle). My friends, you’re the boss, so pair the sauce with whatever you prefer, even with a grain such as rice or couscous.

PASTA IN CRABMEAT SAUCE

Ingredients:

I pound angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
Pinch Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ cup freshly chopped parsley
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 packages (6 oz.) Dungeness crabmeat or 2  (6 oz.) cans white crabmeat
¾ cup heavy cream
Grated Parmesan cheese (to taste)

Instructions:

1 .In a large pot (5 qt.) or Dutch oven heat water to a boil and cook pasta until is al dente.

2. While the pasta is cooking, melt olive oil and butter in a large skillet or frypan. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 3 minutes. Add pinch of  crushed red pepper, if desired.

3. Add lemon juice, oregano, basil, parsley and wine. Stir for one minute. Add crabmeat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Drain pasta and place in large bowl.

5, Cover pasta with crabmeat sauce. Add heavy cream. Stir well and top with parmesan cheese.

6. Serve with warm crusty bread and chilled white wine (or red, if preferred).

Yield: 4 serving