Blue Crab Lemon Pasta

Blue Crab Lemon Pasta

As we get further into blue claw season in Long Island, I am busy making tasty things with them. This lemon crab pasta is really easy to make, and the splash of cream at the end gives this a delicious richness that is difficult to describe. You can, of course, use store bought crab meat when you don’t have fresh, but my blog wouldn‘t be what it is if I wasn’t at least producing some of the ingredients from foraging, fishing, crabbing, or growing.

If you have access to the local docks, July and August is when a net, some chicken legs or wings can have you hauling them up by the bucketful. You can freeze them and keep them in a non-thaw cycled deep chest freezer and then steam them as needed so you can have blue claws all year long.

I imagine king crab or snow crab would be equally acceptable and delicious. I always keep a jar of salt preserved lemon puree on hand in the event I need lemon juice and lemon zest. The cream goes in at the end to prevent it from curdling due to the acidity from the lemon.

Ingredients

  • Meat from one large blue claw crab (or more, I’m not judging)
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 tablespoon of white wine
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon of salt preserved lemon puree or a mix of lemon juice and zest
  • 1 serving spaghetti
  • Water, for boiling the pasta
  • 2-3 tablespoons reserved pasta water, to thicken the sauce
  • 1/4 cup cream
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Minced parsley, for garnish
  • Parmesan cheese, if using, to taste
  1. In a pot, boil pasta according to instructions. Salt the water well.
  2. Over medium high heat, melt butter and sauté garlic until fragrant. Toss in crab meat and white wine until alcohol has cooked off. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the pasta water.
  3. Toss in pasta and add salt and pepper to taste. May not need additional salt due to the pasta water.
  4. Add the cream, remove from heat, and place everything into a bowl.
  5. Serve with a spoonful of salt preserved lemon puree, garnish with minced parsley and parmesan cheese, if using. Mix well before serving.