Inspiced — Recipe Manager
Garlicky Crab and Brown Butter Pasta

Garlicky Crab and Brown Butter Pasta

cooking.nytimes.com
The classic combination of crab, butter, garlic and lemon come together to form a rich, silky sauce in less than the time it takes to boil pasta. Browning the butter adds a complex caramel flavor that underscores the sweetness of the briny crab. This is delicious with regular butter and canned crab and becomes a luxurious special occasion dish with European-style butter and fresh crab meat. Serve alongside simply sautéed greens and a radicchio salad for a complete, relaxed meal.
  • Preparation:
  • Cooking:
  • Total:
  • Serves: 4 persons

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Step 1

    Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook pappardelle according to package instructions until 2 minutes shy of al dente. 

  2. Step 2

    Meanwhile, heat butter in a large, deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until milk solids turn a golden brown and smell sweet and nutty, about 7 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Immediately add garlic and parsley and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic has melted into the butter and the parsley turns a slightly darker shade of green, about 1 minute. Squeeze in the juice of half the lemon and season well with salt and pepper, then reduce the heat to low to keep warm as the pasta finishes cooking. Cut the remaining lemon half into wedges and set aside. 

  4. Step 4

    When the pappardelle is ready, reserve 2 cups of pasta cooking water and drain the pasta. Stir the pasta and 1/2 cup of pasta water into the butter mixture until well combined and pasta is well coated in a shiny, smooth sauce. Add pasta water if dry, stirring in 1/2 cup at a time. Add crab and stir gently until warmed through. 

  5. Step 5

    Serve garnished with more parsley, black pepper and reserved lemon wedges.
NY Times
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