Creamy Tomato Dungeness Crab Pasta

This recipe was adapted from the Creamy Tomato Crab Pasta recipe at jeanetteshealthyliving.com. The key technique that I learned from the recipe was mixing an egg with the Greek yogurt (yes, this recipe uses yogurt) to prevent breaking when cooked. It actually works! The yogurt provides the creaminess for this dish. The other neat aspect of the recipe was the use of a garlic breadcrumb topping, which really helps to make this dish tasty. I used cooked Dungeness crab to make this dish rather than canned crab meat, but you can use whatever’s available. As is usual for my pasta recipes, I use a wok to stir fry the pasta before adding the sauce. Making a pasta dish is no different to me than making chow mein – the techniques are the same, I’m just using a different sauce to make the noodles.

Enjoy!

Garlic Breadcrumb Ingredients

2 slices	2 slices	Sourdough bread
4 cloves	4 cloves	Garlic, crushed in a garlic press
		Salt and pepper, to taste
		Extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Cooked Dungeness crab meat
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions, cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Pasta
½ cup	125 ml.	Pasta cooking liquid

 

Sauce Ingredients

6 cloves	6 cloves	Garlic, crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Red pepper flakes
32 oz.	900 ml.	One bottle of your favorite marinara sauce
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Vodka
5.3 oz.	150 ml.	One single serve container plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1	1	Egg
		Salt and pepper, to taste
		Extra virgin olive oil

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
		Food processor
		Colander
		Whisk
8 qt.	7.5 L.	Pot
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Garlic Breadcrumb Instructions

1. Tear the sourdough bread into pieces and put into the food processor. Pulse the food processor until the bread pieces become crumbs. Crush the garlic in a garlic press, and add the garlic, salt, and pepper to the food processor. Pulse the food processor to incorporate all the ingredients.
2. Heat a wok or pan over medium- to medium-high heat before adding the extra virgin olive oil and then the contents of the food processor. Stir fry the breadcrumbs until browned and then remove them to a covered container. The breadcrumbs can be made the day before cooking the pasta and should be stored in the refrigerator. Take the breadcrumbs out of the refrigerator at least one hour before use.

Preparation Instructions

1. Crush the garlic in a garlic press and put into a small bowl. Place the red chili flakes into the bowl with the crushed garlic. The amount of garlic and red chili flakes to use in this dish depends upon personal taste, so feel free to reduce or increase the amount.
2. Open the single serve container of Greek yogurt and add the contents to a bowl. Add one egg, vodka, and salt and pepper to the bowl, and whisk the contents together.
3. Open the container of marinara sauce.
4. Wash and cut the green onions into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.

Cooking Instructions

1. Cook the pasta in a pot according to the instructions on the package and until the pasta are al dente. Drain the pasta in a colander and set aside. If ready-made or fresh pasta are used, “fluff” the pasta to separate them (i.e. you don’t want put a single mass of pasta into the wok). Clean and dry the pot.
2. Heat a pot over medium- to medium-high heat before adding extra virgin olive oil. Add the bowl with the garlic and red chili flakes and stir fry until fragrant. Add the crab meat and mix the ingredients together before adding the cooked marinara sauce and then the bowl with the yogurt. Stir the sauce together while the mixture comes to a boil, before covering, and then reducing the heat to low to simmer the contents.
3. Heat a wok or pan over medium- to medium-high heat before adding extra virgin olive oil. Add the pasta and stir fry. Add the sauce and the reserved pasta cooking liquid to the pasta in the wok, but not all of the sauce from the pot. The amount of sauce is a personal preference and enough should be added to coat the pasta. Any excess sauce can be refrigerated for another use. Mix the ingredients in the wok together before putting the cooked ingredients in a serving plate. Top the pasta with the garlic breadcrumbs and green onion pieces.