Crab Mushroom Spinach Fettuccine

Copyright 2006 by Cooking With The Single Guy

Ingredients:

1 cooked Dungeness crab (remove meat from shell)
2 cups fresh mushrooms
2 cups fresh spinach
1 lb. fettuccine
1 cup Parmesan reggiano cheese
1 cup heavy cream *
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t lemon zest
salt and pepper

Boil pot of water and cook fettuccine in salted water. Drain and set aside.

In large skillet, heat oil over high flame and add garlic. Then add chopped mushrooms to sweat out the moisture. (Add a pinch of salt to assist in the sweating.) Add heavy cream and bring to a boil, then simmer with cover over medium heat for about 3 minutes. Add crab meat, spinach and lemon zest and cook until spinach is wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Then toss in pasta with some of the pasta water and mix in parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Makes two to three servings.

Pair with a glass of Chardonnay.

* Some heavy cream these days are flavored with sweetness. I only found that option at my grocery store, and when I tried it, the sweetness in the cream made this dish nice. It was giving the crab an extra sweetness. You might want to try a flavored cream, but avoid it if you're not into the subtle sweetness that comes out.

TIPS: You can do a mix of mushrooms that are in season. Think of mushrooms that will match nicely with the crab, both in taste and color contrast. Or just use what's available or your favorites. For this recipe, I used a combination of baby shittake and what's called lion's mane. The lion's mane mushroom is like a furry puppy in texture and white in color, but some think when cooked it has the same texture of crab meat.

LIKE BUTTER: If you're cracking open a freshly cooked crab for this dish, be sure to save the "crab butter," which is the gooey, yellowish part of the crab near the head and in the center of the crab. Some people love this to cook with. I generally don't like to eat it because of its texture and because it's high in cholesterol. But for this dish, I use a tablespoon of it and mixed it in with the cream sauce to give the sauce a bit more creaminess and crab flavor.