Fettuccine with Crab, Crème Fraîche, Lemon, and Tarragon

 

Borrowed from:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/fettuccine-with-crab-creme-fraiche-lemon-and-tarragon

Serves 2

Ingredients

1

tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1

tablespoon unsalted butter

1

small shallot, finely chopped

1

small garlic clove, finely grated

1

8-ounce container crème fraîche, room temperature

Kosher salt

6

ounces fresh or dried fettuccine or tagliatelle

10

ounces cooked Dungeness, king, or jumbo lump crabmeat, picked over

½

lemon

½

cup tarragon leaves

1

teaspoon piment d’Espelette or Aleppo-style pepper or ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Heat oil and butter in a medium skillet over medium. Cook shallot and garlic, stirring often, until soft and golden, about 4 minutes. Add in crème fraîche and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.

   Step 2

   Meanwhile, cook pasta in a pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until very al dente, about 3 minutes (for fresh pasta). Drain, reserving ½ cup pasta cooking liquid.

   Step 3

   Using tongs, transfer pasta to skillet with sauce and add crabmeat. Finely grate zest from lemon over pasta and squeeze in about 1 tsp. juice. Cook pasta, tossing constantly and thinning sauce with a few tablespoonfuls of pasta cooking liquid if needed, until pasta is glossy and sauce is the consistency of heavy cream, about 3 minutes. Add tarragon, season with salt, and toss a few more times to wilt tarragon.

   Step 4

   Transfer pasta to a platter and sprinkle with piment d’Espelette.