Dungeness Crab Pasta
- Cook
- 25 min
[MED] 3 min + 15 min
[LOW] 3 min + 4 min
1 2-pound whole live Dungeness crab
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3 dried chili peppers, seeded
¼ cup cherry tomatoes, halved lengthwise
8 oz dried spaghetti or any pasta of your choice, cooked in a pot of boiling water separately
Garnish
2 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
Olive oil
Bring a ½ cup of water to a boil with [MED] heat for about 3 minutes. Once the water comes to a boil, add crab in the pot upside down (shell-side down). Cover and steam over [MED] heat for about 15 minutes.
Take out the crab and let cool in the refrigerator overnight or until completely cooled. Make sure to keep the crab upside down the whole time. Once cooled, take out all the crabmeat using scissors. Save crab butter (the green-ish yellow innards) and all the juices captured in the shell. Also, save the largest shell and claws for garnish.
Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, garlic and dried chili peppers in the pot. Cook over [LOW] heat for 3 minutes until fragrant.
Add cherry tomatoes and crab juice along with crab butter. Cover and simmer over [LOW] heat for 4 minutes or until tomatoes are soft. Add crabmeat and cooked pasta. Toss well and cook until the pasta absorbs the flavor of the sauce. Season to taste.
Garnish with crab shell and parsley. Add a drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately.
Maintaining the crab upside down helps retain its brinny juice, which will add more depth to the sauce. Adding the innards of the crab (crab butter) makes the whole dish richer and more complex in taste.
Credit: Chef Tetsu Yahagi - Recipe video
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