This dessert is truly luxurious, but incredibly simple to prepare.
My partner is a pescatarian, which means we’ll have to pass on traditional New Year’s Eve dishes like prime rib or filet mignon. In fact, I created a special pasta dish 20 years ago on New Year’s Eve called fresh tagliatelle pasta, tossed with fresh crab meat, tarragon, lemon, and crème fraîche, for my then-fiancé, and he’s requested it every year since.
A seamless multi-tasking solution for getting a delicious meal prepared and on the table quickly.
Quality Is Key
and a citrusy salad.
If I’m short on time, I’ll opt for pre-picked crab meat found in stores like Costco or Whole Foods. It’s essential to use high-quality, fresh crab meat for this recipe, rather than canned crab, which tends to be dry and has a metallic flavor.
For years, I worked at a small pasta company that made fresh pasta, so I’ve got the routine down pat. My husband being a tech whiz, loves to use our Kitchenaid’s pasta attachment to roll out the dough, so we almost always end up making homemade tagliatelle. I’ve also tested this recipe with pre-made fresh pasta; as long as you keep a close eye on the cooking time, you’ll get a great result. Just be careful not to overcook it (some types can be done in as little as 2 minutes).
Whipping Up a Quick and Easy Cream Sauce
Crème fraîche has a tangy taste similar to sour cream, but it has a richer flavor and a smoother texture due to its about 30% milk fat content. When heated, crème fraîche turns into a smooth, rich sauce that doesn’t separate like sour cream tends to. This makes it a great pairing for mild flavors like crab, as it creates a light, tangy sauce that complements the seafood without overpowering it. You can typically find crème fraîche in the dairy section of most stores.
This flavorful pasta dish requires just a few additional ingredients: some fresh tarragon, offering a subtle fennel or anise flavor, a squeeze of lemon zest and juice, and a generous grating of fresh black pepper. To keep cleanup simple, simply combine all the ingredients in the pasta pot itself, allowing you to focus on enjoying the meal rather than scrubbing dishes afterwards.
Quick Tips
- Let the crab and crème fraîche sit at room temperature for half an hour before boiling the pasta so they’re not cold straight from the fridge when the hot pasta is tossed with them.
- Serve the pasta in bowls that have been warmed slightly to help retain its warmth and creaminess during the eating process.
- If you’re not a fan of tarragon, you could use fresh basil leaves instead.
- You can substitute hot smoked salmon for the crab and reduce the amount to about 6 ounces.
- You can add a small amount of red pepper flakes for a bit of a kick if you enjoy a spicy flavor.
Quick and Delicious Crab Pasta for One: A Simplified Recipe
You’ll need the following ingredients to prepare the dish for either two servings as a main course or four as part of a larger meal.
- 1 medium lemon
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional salt for added seasoning
- One 9-ounce package of fresh fettuccine or
- 8-10 ounces of picked Dungeness or blue crab meat, which is about 1 1/2 cups.
- 1/2 cup crème fraîche
- Three tablespoons of chopped fresh tarragon.
- Add one-half teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper, adjusting the amount as needed for seasoning.
Get a big pot of water boiling. As the water heats up, take a sharp grater to zester and grate the peel from half a lemon, then squeeze its juice. Meanwhile, prepare and measure out all the other ingredients, because this dish needs to go quickly or the cooked noodles will stick together.
Put one tablespoon of salt into the boiling water and then add the pasta. Follow the package guidelines to cook it, aiming for the pasta to be al dente. After cooking, remove the pasta from the water and save one-fourth cup of the pasta’s cooking liquid. Shut off the heat.
Return the strained pasta to the pot over the low heat setting and add the crab, crème fraîche, tarragon, pepper, and lemon zest. Mix the ingredients well with a pair of tongs. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. As desired, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of the set-aside pasta water to the sauce to loosen it. Continue cooking for a bit, letting the pasta absorb the sauce. Serve the pasta immediately.
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