Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Crab & Garlic Pasta Alfredo

I've always been a fan of seafood, but lately it's manifested into an obsession for dungeness crab. I think it all started with the Crab Mac & Cheese from Salty's. Mmm...makes me wanna drool just thinking about it!


Anyway, since then I've been scouring the menus of my favorite restaurants for good crab dishes...which really isn't hard, considering all the great seafood houses we have in Seattle! This Crab Pasta with Garlic Alfredo sauce was inspired by one of my favorite dishes at Anthony's Home Port. If you're ever in the area, you must stop by to try it! Hubby, who usually hates white sauced pastas, gives it two thumbs up!

(1) The Pasta

I have no idea why I didn't take any pictures of the pasta! Wow, I'm only 24 and starting to lose my marbles. hehe. Sorry, guess you'll just have to imagine it. =)

You can use any type of pasta you want. The common pasta to use is fettuccine. I just really like bow tie pasta for some reason. It's cute. And festive! If you used fettuccine noodles, then you could legitimately call it a Crab and Garlic Fettuccine Alfredo, which I guess sounds fancier than "Pasta Alfredo." hehe.

Cook 12 oz of whatever pasta you like, according to the instructions on the box. Make sure to add a bit of olive oil and salt to the water. Drain and set aside.

(2) The Crab & Garlic Alfredo Sauce


Start by heating up olive oil in a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Add a ton of garlic to it and stir quickly, non-stop! You don't want the garlic to burn. If it burns, it'll be super bitter and you'll have to throw the whole pot out and start over, so be careful.


You want to keep stirring and tossing it, so that it can start to caramelize. This will happen pretty quickly.


Once most of the garlic has browned on the edges, you're good to go. This process takes the garlic-y edge out of the cloves and makes it slightly sweeter, while giving the sauce a super yummy garlic flavor.


Immediately add heavy cream, butter, garlic salt, and cream cheese. Stir until everything has melted together. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.


Add in 1 1/2 cups of Parmesan cheese. I make my alfredo sauce slightly on the "lighter" side. It's not as cheesy and heavy on the palate as some sauces. If you like a more cheesy sauce, you can add more Parmesan to it, along with more garlic salt. Mix until well combined.


Now for the best part!


Fold in the crab! Set aside.


(3) Putting it all together



Just to add a tad more flavor to the dish, and to sneakily get Hubby to eat his veggies, I started with a large chopped onion and a bag of frozen peas.


In a large dutch oven (or other large pot), saute the onion in olive oil until it has completely caramelized. Quickly add in the peas and toss for about 2 minutes, or until it has completely thawed.


Toss in the pasta until well combined.


Pour in the Alfredo sauce and fold until everything is well coated.


Add in salt and pepper to taste.


Serve with an extra generous sprinkle of Parmesan cheese...which is also not pictured here. hehe. But this one was actually on purpose because Hubby doesn't like extra cheese, and this plate was for him. =)

Give this dish a try! It's sooo delicious and super easy to make. I think a lot of people shy away from making their own Alfredo sauce because it seems a bit intimidating. But actually, it's really easy and practically comes together on its own.

This dish is also incredibly versatile. You can add practically anything to the cream sauce base- any kind of meat or veggies you like! It's sure to please everyone, even super picky eaters!


Click HERE for the recipe

1 comment:

  1. If we ever meet in person, I hope you'll serve me this dish!

    :)
    ButterYum

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts with Thumbnails