Crab Poached in Scampi Butter Sauce

It's the most wonderful time of the year ... crab season! We started it off with nine precious ounces of Dungeness crab meat from our seafood box. I decided to start off by keeping things simple and highlighting the crab in a rich, scampi sauce. The whole dish comes together very quickly and easily, although the butter should be made a bit ahead of time. The good news is though that the butter can be made up to a week ahead of time. This is a restaurant quality meal that requires very little work.

Two years ago: Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Three years ago: Poutine Calzones
Four years ago: Pecan Pie

Crab Poached in Scampi Butter Sauce (from Fish Without a Doubt)

Ingredients
Butter Sauce
8 large garlic cloves, cut in half
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 lb unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
3 tbsp dry white wine or vermouth
Pasta
12 ounces jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over
1/2 lb fresh fettuccine
chopped parsley or basil

1. Turn a food processor on and drop garlic down feed tube, then add shallot.
2. Scrape sides of bowl and add butter and Tabasco sauce.
3. Process until light and fluffy. Season with salt and white pepper. Process to combine.
4. Pack butter into small bowl, cover with plastic, and refrigerate until firm.
5. Bring wine to simmer in small saucepan. Simmer for about 2 minutes to cook off alcohol, but not reduce.
6. Whisk in cold scampi butter about 1 tbsp at a time to make emulsified sauce. Simmer at low heat.
7. Stir crab into sauce, trying not to break up lumps, and keep warm on back of stove.
8. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook to al dente.
9. Drain pasta and diving among 4 plates. Spoon crab and sauce over pasta, top with chopped herb, and serve.