Before I even begin this blog post, I’m going to ask you to go to the archives and check out “Crab Sauce over Spaghetti.”    That recipe is the real deal.  However, it’s a lot more involved than this one.   Also, eating the dish prepared that way is quite a laborious and messy task.  My husband would say it’s more fun to cook and eat it that way (his way), but while I may agree, the effort is sometimes just too much for me.  When I want that delicate fish sauce quickly, and eaten without much fuss, a can of lump crab meat can do the trick.

To be honest, I had never made crab sauce this way, but I felt certain that this can of wild, jumbo lump crabmeat could be turned into something delightful.   Luckily for me, I had recently found this website called “Eat Your Books.”  It’s fantastic!  I highly recommend it, especially for cookbook lovers. You enter all your cookbooks onto their website  (a labor of love) and then, when looking for a specific recipe, you just type in a key word, and it will search all your cookbooks for a recipe.  It will then direct you to the exact cookbook where you can find the recipe.   So, I typed in “lump crab meat,” and it directed me to Michele Scicolone’s cookbook (one of my favorites), “1000 Italian Recipes.”  I followed it, and I was delighted with this fabulous sauce from the sea!!!!  It was easy and oh so delicious!!!  You don’t need a bib to eat it, nor do you have to crack shells and spend time digging out morsels of crabmeat.  Your hands stay clean and no smelly shells in the garbage.

However, it’s maybe not as much fun.  I hate it when he’s right!!!

Recipe:  makes 4 to 6 servings, according to Michele.   4 servings, according to me

1/3 cup olive oil

3 large garlic cloves, crushed

Pinch of crushed red pepper

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered if large

Salt and freshly ground pepper

8 ounces lump crabmeat (I used jumbo)

8 fresh basil leaves, torn (never cut) into bits

1 pound of spaghetti or linguine

1.  Pour the oil into a large skillet.  Add the garlic cloves, and red pepper and cook over medium heat, until the garlic is golden brown, about 4 minutes.  Remove garlic and set aside.
2. Add the tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes are softened and have released their juices, about 10 minutes.  I covered the tomatoes for half the cooking time.
3. Gently stir in the crab and basil.
4. Cook the spaghetti or linguine until al dente.  Take out a little of the cooking water and set aside (always a good idea).
5. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.  Toss over high heat for 1 minute, adding a little water if you feel it is dry.  Serve immediately.