Creamy One-Pot Crab Pasta Recipe
20min
30min
2
Main Course
American
How can something so simple and quick—with fewer than 10 ingredients—be so yummy? The trick is to cook the pasta in seafood stock which imparts flavor from the inside out, making this dish truly greater than the sum of its parts. Check out the seafood stock recipe below and use up the crab shells.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup thinly sliced leeks (½ small) washed well
- 1 cup seafood stock or bottled clam juice
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- ¼ pound angel hair pasta, broken in half
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 1 Dungeness crab cluster, crabmeat and shells reserved separately (about
- ½ cup crabmeat)
- Snipped fresh chives, for garnish
Directions
SAUTÉ THE LEEKS
In a wide saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the leeks and cook, stirring, until softened but not browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the crab stock and 1 cup water, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Season lightly with salt and pepper.
COOK THE PASTA
Add the pasta to the saucepan and stir to combine. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring frequently, until the pasta is al dente and the liquid is nearly absorbed, 5 to 6 minutes.
FINISH AND SERVE
Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer. Fold in the crab meat, being careful to keep the pieces intact, and cook just until heated through, about 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper. Divide between two bowls. Garnish with chives and serve right away.
Pro tips
Pair it Up
A rich white wine, like a lightly-oaked Chardonnay or a northern Italian white, plays well with the richness of the cream and cheese while simultaneously providing a welcome acidity.
Level it Up
Sauté wild mushrooms to fold in at the end with the crab for a deluxe seafood pasta.
Grace Parisi
Culinary Director Grace Parisi is a cook, writer and cookbook author. Formerly the Senior Test Kitchen Editor at Food & Wine Magazine and Executive Food Director at TimeInc Books, her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Health, O Magazine, Epicurious, Fitness, Today, Serious Eats, Martha Stewart, and many more. She’s the author of more than 6 books, among them The Portlandia Cookbook and Get Saucy, which was nominated for a James Beard award for Best Single Subject Cookbook.
